Our annual Grow programme encourages Netprofile employees to participate in training or events that support our development and growth. This year, my colleague Liisa Yli-Ojanperä and I chose the Nordic Business Forum. We are both NBF rookies, so it was our first time at the event. What did we take away from the event from a communications professional's point of view, and would we go again?
The 2024 Nordic Business Forum offered an impressive line-up of speakers, from FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss to TED Talk guru Adam Grant. After the intensive two-day blast, our heads were filled with inspiration, excitement and confusion. How could our brains digest all this and structure the learnings into a concrete format? Here's my best attempt.
Forget prioritisation – focus on the most important
The strategy presentations on the first day repeated the same main message: focus, focus, focus. Prioritisation is a waste of time if it means doing everything and only discussing the order of the items in the to-do list. The same applies to the everyday life of communication professionals: focus on the actions, channels and audiences most relevant to your strategy and clarify the core of your message. A few key messages are better than a little bit of everything. The real courage is to say no to ideas that do not support strategy, even if they are good and attractive proposals as such. The board professional Sanna Suvanto-Haarsae was one of the speakers who emphasised the importance of focus.
A brand is what you have when you have nothing
As companies struggle under the pressure of cost savings and downsizing, the management may look at communications and marketing. But is communication really the best function for savings?
Bozoma Saint John insightfully summed up the importance of a brand: "A good brand will save you when your company fails." So, if the brand is non-existent or weak, what will save your organisation? Exactly. There's food for thought for us all – and perhaps a reason to rethink where to cut costs.
Customer experience provoked discussion
The last two presentations of the first day focused on improving the customer experience. The different departments in an organisation should work together to ensure that customers receive first-class service at every touchpoint with the company, from toilet visits to receiving their bills. Steven Van Belleghem reminded us of this.
But what exactly is creating a first-class customer experience? According to Will Guidara, a great customer experience is created by small, seemingly insignificant things. Guidara used the term unreasonable hospitality. If we, as communication and interaction professionals, do not recognise the great importance of small acts, or in other words, the importance of creating a relationship, then who will?
Time for reflection, self-awareness and development
Brené Brown, Research Professor of Social Work, touchingly discussed courage and tolerating uncertainty. He said that courage requires vulnerability: courage is not about not being afraid, but doing despite the fear.
Brown showed how thinking can and should be given time – even in front of an audience. "I've never said this out loud before. This is the first time I've ever thought this," Brown said, letting the audience wait before continuing to formulate her thoughts. "I don't want to swipe away fears about the AI threat by saying that our unique humanity will save us. That's hypocritical. After all, not all of us are very good at humanity."
According to Brown, those who will succeed in the future will be those who work hard on their self-awareness, are self-directed and able to examine their own actions critically. As communication professionals, we also need these skills as we work through new technologies, pressures and expectations. It is important for us to remember to evolve: AI will not take our jobs, but a professional who knows how to use AI may.
Big money for a big event – or could you do the same for less?
The fifth and final learning relates to the whole event. How do you create an event that really makes a splash?
It seems that the organisers of the Nordic Business Forum have taken inspiration for the style and arrangements from bigger, international stages. And so they should. Powerful music as the stars stepped on the stage, awe-inspiring light shows and stunning vocal and acrobatic performances were all part of the package. The host was the always hilarious Pep Rosenfeld.
Of course, not every event has a budget of hundreds of thousands of euros, but carefully considered details and small things make a surprisingly big difference. The placement of chair rows to allow good stage visibility, giveaway topic badges to help networking, and a warm welcome on arrival made up a successful event.
Although the host's final harnessed lift to the ceiling failed, it did not change the audience's opinion that the main memory of the event was a wow.
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