Changing business structures require new solutions
As the new chair of the Swedish Venture Capital Association, Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist has, after her first time in the job, been able to discern the enormous range that exists among the motley crew of players.
– What surprised me is the passion of the members to find new companies that no one else has yet understood how good they are or can be, notes Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist.
The labor market has undergone interesting developments in recent years. Today, there is not just one way to go, but many. Elisabeth believes that today's opportunities, such as interim management fit into the prevailing talent pool. Nevertheless, the concept of interim is still quite unknown.
– Yes, and it surprises me. People think that an interim manager is someone who is 55+, but that's not the case in reality. My perception of a good interim manager is that it is a person who can quickly get to grips with a company's conditions and challenges and who can start delivering from day one - and that the suitability to take on interim assignments does not have to be linked to age.
Elisabeth notes that when it comes to start-ups, it can be important to understand that sometimes the company's original management needs to be replaced in order to give the company a chance to develop further successfully.
– In such contexts, it can be valuable to use interim solutions, for example, during a transitional period when new skills are being sought.
Elisabeth herself used a interim solution in marketing and communication in one of its change projects a few years ago.
– In fact, at that time I used a consultant who was a bit over budget. But, on the other hand, I got access to a super professional for six months who also implemented much more than originally intended. If I had hired someone, I would probably have only gotten what was expected. Here I got more and for a shorter period, which was exactly what the company needed at the time.
A new type of lifestyle
We live in a time when we prefer to mix it up in a completely different way than before.
– Just look at people's lifestyle choices. Today we like to mix expensive designer clothes with clothes from H&M. It is no longer the case that status is about having a BMW and a big villa in Djursholm. Nowadays, many people appreciate being able to work in a more project-oriented way. Maybe you want to be able to ski in the Alps for six months and then come back and take an interim assignment, says Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist.
Name: Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist
Current assignments: Chairman of the Swedish Venture Capital Association
Previous roles: Elisabeth has, among other things, been CEO of Företagarna, political expert for the then Minister of Trade and Industry Maud Olofsson and management consultant at McKinsey & Company
Elisabeth's top book tip: ”Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX and the Quest for a Fantastic Future” by Ashley Vance
”I am impressed by Elon Musk's ambition to look far ahead and implement the complicated and impossible, and not just talk about it. What inspires me is his attitude of wanting to build the world's best electric car, and that without bringing in expertise from Detroit. Instead, he has found all the talent he needed himself by calling around to professors at the leading universities. The people he hired are not those with the best social skills, but those who are the biggest nerds - that is, geniuses...”
