Hello World!

I have been thinking about writing down my thoughts for a long time. However, lack of time has always been good enough reason for not doing so. Why now? Professionally I feel that I need to take the next step and deepen my understanding after running full speed few years with somewhat limited focus. Personally I’d like to understand how digital transformation is changing the world and especially how to maximize the positive effects of that. Most likely becoming a father of two small children and getting slightly older myself have also changed my thinking when trying to identify my personal drivers ;)

- Everyone wants to change the world, but is change the right driver? Shouldn't we aim for improvement? Digital transformation comes also with strong negative effects which we need to be aware of.

- Everyone wants to have fun at work, but shouldn't the value of the work be the first priority? Most meaningful jobs contain also less fun tasks — think about a police man for instance. Fun follows when the culture, team and are contents of the job are in place.

- Everyone wants to run a startup, but is starting from scratch and following the exit plan the only way to success?

During my 10 years at Futurice I have had the privilege to work in almost all possible roles; from software programming to consulting, sales and during the last 5 years leading our subsidiaries in Berlin and London as their managing director. At Futurice we are continuously learning about rapidly changing digital trends, we have started new businesses from scratch, but most importantly, we have created a unique company culture that has enabled the success of the company. As the only company ever, we have been selected twice as the best place to work in Europe. How could I use those assets best to create something new that eventually improves part of the world?

Currently I’m interested to learn more about Industrial Internet and what does it really mean in bigger context. Finland is full of traditional industrial companies who have a great history but uncertain future. I believe that many of them have the potential to grow really big when they start utilizing modern technologies, modernize their company culture and improve their sales. As with many other blogs, the primary purpose of this one is to help with my own thinking and it’s a great bonus if someone else reads them. I will be writing both in English and Finnish about interesting topics whenever I have an idea and time to put it on “paper”. I’m not going to take a huge stress if my last post was written long time ago. That probably means I have spent the time with my family. My goal is to write as understandably as possible also about complex things — so that someone not so familiar about digital industry could understand my text. If I manage to do that, I have probably understood something myself.

Cheers,
Sampo