Transcription
Dear Wharton Class of 2025,
I have one good and one bad piece of you today. Let me start with a good one. You are about to graduate from the very best MBA program in the world. Congratulations.
(audience cheers and applauds)
Now let me move on to the bad part. As you leave campus today to enter the real world, many of you will think that you are God's gift to business.
(audience chuckles)
And I know that because that's exactly what I thought when I left this place 33 years ago. I had my Wharton degree in one hand and my ego in the other. And let me tell you, my ego was the heavier part. So take this advice from one who learned it the hard way. You are probably not God's gift to business.
(audience chuckles)
But you can become one, and I'm going to share with you one superpower that you will need in business and in life. And that superpower is talk to people. Now, you expected something fancier, didn't you? Something along the lines of work smarter not harder, or dare to fail. You have been a student at the best business school in the world and the best piece of advice you got was talk to people? And yes, it is, because talking to people, all types of people, left, right, center, up and down, both the ones you agree with and disagree with, that is a superpower. Why? Because most people don't do it.
What I talk about is real straight talk, the kind where you can see someone's facial microexpressions when you ask a tough question, or when you say something nice from the bottom of your heart and you see the tears in their eyes, that's where the magic happens. That's where we figure out who we are. That's where we understand how the world really works.
Now think about an important moment in your life. I bet it wasn't on TikTok or Instagram. I bet it wasn't in a Zoom meeting either. I had such a moment shortly after I graduated from Wharton. After six months in my first job, I thought I was doing really great. I mean, I was making plans how to spend the big bonus I expected to get. Then my boss took me aside for some feedback, the two of us down in the basement of a wine bar in London, because in London feedback sessions take place in dark and gloomy wine bars.
(audience chuckles)
So we sat down, and my boss took out a stack of papers, which, by the height of it, resembled a novel. But he wasn't a novel, and it wasn't my bonus or pay increase either. It was a list of all my mistakes and what I needed to improve. It was a reality check given face-to-face. I was basically utterly useless. That conversation changed my life. I learned I wasn't God's gift to anything. I learned I needed to step up my game. And I realized that I was not conscious of my surroundings. I was obsessed with myself and my own ego.
That is when I started to really have conversations with other people, more people, all sorts of people, not only CEOs but also taxi drivers, people next to me on the plane or at a party. And since I'm from the Nordics, I even have conversations with naked Fins next to me in the sauna. And I'll tell you, in Finland, naked people, they are really naked.
(audience chuckles)
The best CEOs talk to everyone in their organizations, from board members and top managers to support teams and interns. The CEO of Ferrari had conversations with 300 employees when he took on the job. At Adidas, the top leader gave out his cell phone number to 60,000 people, every single person working in the company. Why? Because they want to listen to what people have to say and get perspectives from everyone, not just the ones who make it into their meeting calendar.
So when I started in my current role, I had 140 in-depth conversations before my first day in the office. I wanted to get to know people and they wanted to get to know me. And these conversations provided great insights that made my first decisions better. Talking to so many people from all over the organization gave me a pretty good idea of what I should prioritize. And since people felt that they had been heard, it turned out to be easier to drive change.
But as CEO, it's hard to make sure that you meet people from all levels of your organization. So instead, I make them come to me. And I have this secret weapon that makes people come to my office all the time. Because just outside my office, I have a freezer. I have a freezer full of ice cream. And whenever someone wants an ice cream, I get a chance to talk to them. So the annual budget for ice cream where I work is larger than in most companies, but it is very profitable. I probably get it back a million times.
A good conversation consists of two ingredients: speaking and listening. Now I checked out your curriculum here at Wharton. I found courses on speaking, writing, but nothing on listening. Teach yourself the art of listening. You have two ears and one mouth for a reason. You should listen twice as much as you talk. In my professional career, I have first and foremost been a listener. And let me tell you, there is a lot more money in listening than in talking.
Listening is a skill. And to become a good listener, you have to tame your own need for talking. And as you progress in your career, this becomes harder. Have you heard about the HiPPO effect? It stands for the highest paid person's opinion. That goes for meetings as well. The highest paid person in a meeting talks the most. CEOs are basically addicted to the sound of themselves talking. I mean, just look at me today.
(audience chuckles) (laughs)
So please do not forget to pay attention to the people around you. Listen carefully to what they have to say and ask questions instead of just talking yourself. When you meet new people, learn their names. Remember their favorite football team or that time you discussed how to make the perfect spaghetti carbonara. Because next time you meet, they will be stunned that you remember.
So when you leave campus today, remember to talk to those who cross your path in life. Listen to them, not just at work, but everywhere. It'll give you new perspectives and deeper wisdom, in business and in life. And please, when you get that first big bonus, don't spend it all on something fancy and expensive. Take someone you love out for dinner and have a great conversation.
Class of 2025, congratulations. And now go conquer the world. Thank you.
(audience cheers and applauds)