Q&A: NOKIA'S OLLILA ON CEO PROFILES AND THE COMPANY'S FUTURE
Executives at Nokia Corp. clearly have their reservations about personality profiles. They worry that such coverage, common in American media, tends to link a company's success or failure too closely with one person. And this, they think, damages the team spirit. Pekka Ala-Pietila, Nokia's vice chairman, finds profiles downright objectionable. "A profile is a lie," he says. "American CEOs are always saying 'I.' It's a false picture. This company has 40,000 employees. The CEO is limited. He has so many obligations, there's no way he can look at the details." That said, Business Week proceeded with its profile of CEO Jorma Ollila. Here's what Ollila had to say to BW's Stephen Baker about profiles, himself, and the company.
Q: Why is everyone around here so skittish about profiles?
A: It's a Nokia instinct. We want to stress the team effort. I don't want to personalize Nokia with me. [Grandstanding] is not very Finnish, it's not very Nokia, and [the quiet way] has stood up well. We don't need heroic fables here."
Q: Why has Nokia been successful?
A: We had decisive restructuring in the Nineties. We prepared for digital early, and benefitted from the mobile revolution. Plus, we have a technical base that goes back 25 years. This gives us know-how that few companies have. I'm not a technologist. But when I take my people against the competitors, I think we can beat anyone in the business.
Q: How did you get the top job in 1992?
A: I was very much surprised when I was put into the job. I wasn't prepared.
Q: So what did you do first?
A: I had been running mobile phones. That knowledge of the business gave me the confidence to say that we will make this a telecom company. I came to the conclusion, even before they gave me the promotion, that if we did things right, we could really be a major player. But I remember saying this to the management team, once I was CEO, and seeing lots of square faces.
Q: Why are you switching the jobs of your entire top team?
A: I want to remove people from their comfort areas, to remove stubborness that gets built into the minds of the people. We want to build a certain amount of chaos, and a sense of urgency. Switching also helps people learn from one another. Infrastructure can learn from handsets about the speed and product life cycle of consumer electronics. And the phone people can learn customer relations from infrastructure. It's cross fertilization.
Q: It seems like the only person not getting rotated is you.
A: I've commented about that to my colleagues. I want to rotate too. I don't think I can be in the job until I'm 63. That's a long time. It's very wearing. Sometimes I feel worn out and tired. It's very easy to make a mistake that can cost you $1 billion in earnings over five years. I don't think anyone can work like this for 15 or 20 years.
Q: You started out in '92 with a strong focus on telecommunications. But now digital convergence is bringing you right into the Internet, where you'll be battling with much of Silicon Valley. In effect, you're developing into a branch of the computer industry. What makes you think you'll be successful there?
A: If you take software or telcoms, you can't say who will be the winner. Even Bill Gates can't be sure that he's a winner. But when it comes to the flexibility, the open mind, the transparency of an organization, I feel we are particularly well geared to what there is in the next five years.
Q: In the third generation of mobile communications, how will the market be divvied up?
A: The convergence of Internet to mobile phones will not lead into one single player becoming master of the universe. You're likely to see the horizontal value chain, like in computers. You've got to find your place in the value chain. Our special edge will be in voice and data terminals, where the radio link is a crucial element. Voice terminals, to a major degree, will be wireless. That will mean that our weight in the industry will grow. Still, the future is all full of question marks and surprises. That's part of the fun in this industry.
EDITED BY RICHARD S. DUNHAM
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