Last week we were fortunate enough to receive The Danish Communication Award 2011 from the members of Danish Communication Association (Dansk Kommunikationsforening) in the concert hall of DR. About 250 participants in the audience of corporate communication professionals voted after presentations of the five nominated communication projects. A few hours later we got the result and were called to the stage to receive the award. I went on stage with the executive of the project from Movia, Maja Nellemann, and my colleague Louise Kramer, who is project manager at Stagis.

Many of the participants (including myself) summed up the events on Twitter - look for #komdag. You can see my tweets on twitter.com/#!/nikolajstagis. At Stagis we've been blogging about the project quite a few times since we started implementing it in 2008. Here's the most recent about the nomination for the award. Or you can find more about the project on our website by clicking "cases".

We are really proud of the award and the acknowledgement we've received from our colleagues in the field of corporate communication. Our project "Bus drivers with character" received about twice as many votes as the next nominated project and the audience cheered after seeing a short introductory video with bus driver Torben who was - as always - quite entertaining. What makes me just as proud as receiving the award is meeting some of the bus drivers who has been involved in the project, and who tells me that it made a difference in their lives. Like the bus driver Linda, who was awarded the Danish bus driver of the year on September 2nd and is soon flying to Singapore to see public transportation there and meet bus drivers in that region. She loves the bus and the passengers and now she is going to board an aeroplane for the first time in her life to fly to Asia! You can meet her on "Bus driver TV".

Danish article about the project online (Update November 18th)
Danish Commucation Association (DKF) just released a Danish article about the project. You can read it on kommunikationsforening.dk. There are videos and lots of other articles from the event on the site, too.

Over the past six months I've had the privilege of spending time with the management and employees at HP in Denmark. After several tough years during the financial crisis and a shifting environment for the IT industry, the Country Management Team wanted to rediscover and focus on the strengths of the Danish HP organization in order to increase engagement, motivation and pride within the organization. Stagis was invited to work with the management team to rediscover the authentic strengths of HP and to help the organization remember and reclaim what they are good at – what HP in Denmark is passionate about.

During the spring I met most of the managers in the Danish organization and during May and June I’ve personally been meeting and interviewing a lot of managers and employees at Hewlett-Packard in Allerød. When I started out I mostly thought of HP as the hardware company that most people think about – a company that produce servers, laptops and printers. But then, as I met with people and joined workshops and meetings, I remembered some of the things I had heard and read about HP over the years. When Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard founded their small company in a garage in Palo Alto in California in 1938, they were not only founding a small tech shop, they founded what is now known as Silicon Valley, the cradle of an entire industry. And they led the HP company from being good to great through a number of leadership principles that have been praised in well recognized management litterature. Like “Management by Walking Around”, “Open Door Policy” and “The HP Way”. Here’s one of the ads that ran during HPs “reinvent” campaign reconnecting to the historic garage and the principles of Bill and Dave:



I think the ad captures some of the greatness of HP. Since the time in the garage HP has come to be the largest IT company in the world with more than 320.000 employees around the globe. But during the past few years things have been tough in the tech industry due to the financial crisis. The former CEO Mark Hurd introduced new forms of reporting and cut costs in order to help HP stay afloat. Just a few months ago the former CEO of eBay, Meg Whitman, took over the role of CEO. The shifting external environment had an impact on the tech industry and on HP. Customers are reluctant to invest in IT, the strategy of HPs PC division is subject to media commentary and naturally, life in the tech business is not what it used to be, five or ten years ago. As you can imagine, the financial crisis naturally leads into identity questions like “who are we?” and “who do we want to become?”.




When I first entered HP one of the things that struck me was the lack of visual identity. The building is new, cool and looks great, but if someone had removed the HP Invent graphics from the building I wouldn’t be able of seeing, which company was working here. The same goes for the reception area and the meeting rooms. Where is the physical, visual or tactile expression of identity and the passion for the products, the employees and the customers? Every organization needs to express and show who they are in order to build a strong authentic identity.

Here’s the good news. Last week I was visiting HP in Allerød again. Newly appointed Managing Director in Denmark, Jakob Schou Meding, was on his tenth workday at HP, talking about community, knowing each other, working together and how to build trust in front of about 200 employees. People were cheering and seemed to have high hopes for the future. I joined to give a brief presentation of the authentic strengths of HP Denmark that I discovered over the past months. When I walked out of there I was proud to be part of the process and I felt quite sure that I was witnessing a local organization becoming a new, more focused version of itself. In the very near future the organization will be working with a series of initiatives to increase the sense of community, appreciation, engagement and leadership – and to help the potentials of the Danish organization grow.

I går holdt jeg foredrag for 100 oplagte og glade efterskoleledere på Efterskolernes årlige lederkonference i DGI Byen. Før jeg kom på podiet var der præsentation af samtlige fremmødte og fællessang. Ikke noget med at sidde og pippe ned i sangbogen - der blev sunget igennem! Min kollega Louise og jeg diskuterede, om ikke vi skulle indføre fællessang på kontoret - der var høj energi og masser af fællesskab i det. Mit foredrag handlede om autentisk identitet og så forsøgte jeg at udfordre  efterskolelederne i forhold til efterskolernes identitet. Er hver efterskole god nok til at finde sine særlige styrker og dyrke både ledelse, aktiviteter, organisering og kommunikation ud fra netop "min" efterskoles styrker? Vi havde en rigtig god debat med gode spørgsmål, gode kommentarer og reflektioner. Heine Boe fra Efterskolen for Scenekunst (tidligere Femmøller Efterskole, som Stagis har udviklet identitet for) sagde, at det var overraskende, at "sådan en reklamemand (jeg kunne ikke dy mig for at gøre indsigelser mod dén titel) kom og skulle tale om kommunikation, men så talte om alt det, der ligger før kommunikationen - nemlig hvem man er". Rigtig god pointe, for det er afklaringen af identitet, der er grundlaget for god kommunikation.



I forbindelse med lederkonferencen har jeg skrevet en artikel, som berører nogen af de emner, jeg fortalte om, og som vi diskuterede efterfølgende. Jeg kaldte den "På udkig efter efterskolens autentiske styrker" og den kan downloades på stagis.dk. Den kan også ses i færdig form på Efterskolebladets hjemmeside.

Tilbage i 2006 - 2008 bloggede vi en del om uddannelse, efterskoler og skolevalg - indlæggene kan findes her på bloggen ved at trykke på "Categories" og vælge dette emne.

The Danish Communication Association (Dansk Kommunikationsforening) has nominated five projects for the Danish Communication Award 2011. One of them is ’Bus drivers with character’, a project that was initiated and executed by Stagis. The project integrates efforts in the fields of organizational culture, corporate branding and corporate communication in order to create more ”character”, pride, appreciation and job satisfaction for the bus drivers and managers in Greater Copenhagen. The ultimate aim is to deliver a higher level of service and create a better experience for the bus passengers and get more copenhageners to use public transportation.

Three years ago we set out on this wonderful journey with a test project that proved it was possible to change attitudes and pride within the bus companies that participate. During the past year the project has been supported by the Danish Transport Authority which has made it possible to bring the project to a higher level. Almost 7.000 bus passengers have sent their stories about ”Good Moments” to the bus driver website www.buschaffor.dk, the bus drivers have been in the media with positive stories every month, a group of bus drivers are making ”bus driver TV”, the training program ”Movia Akademi” is on it’s way to be integrated into the regular bus industry training institutions and on September 2nd the bus driver of the year was announced at a great event in central Copenhagen. There has been lots and lots of other activities to help everyone make the bus experience better.

On November 9th the Danish Communication Association is hosting Communication Day 2011 (Kom-dag’11) and we are happy to be one of the five nominated projects. The criteria for professional communication is defined as:

-       Target managed (clear goals)
-       Involves management
-       Target audience oriented
-       Multi-pronged and integrated (several integrated activities)
-       Return-oriented (return more than invested)

We try to make all our projects live up to these criteria (and more!) and Bus drivers with character is no exception. It has an extreme degree of integration and especially in the first two years lots of people from all sides of the project asked me if I thought it was possible. We were trying to get seven private bus companies, one public company and the union to work together in order to change culture and attitudes within a group of 4.500 employees and 200 managers across 20-odd work places. And to begin with there was no funding. Everyone involved had to find a way to fund the activities. Why didn’t I give up when things are so complex and difficult? I always thought it was possible – I just didn’t know exactly what the obstacles where. And today it’s paying off. When I meet bus drivers Lars or Rene or Linda, just three of several hundred bus drivers I’ve met, they tell me it’s made a huge difference in their lives, beyond and above their work hours.

I’m really excited about the award. There is an award given by the professional jury and another award given by the audience on the day. I will be there on the day together with my colleague Louise Kramer who is the project manager of the activities we are running and Maja Nellemann, executive of the project and representative of the public transportation authority Movia. Keep your fingers crossed!

More than 200 people – bus drivers, their passengers and passers-by - were there when the “Bus Driver of the Year” was awarded Friday 2nd September in central Copenhagen.

Six bus drivers were nominated for the title of Greater Copenhagen bus passengers, who had sent text messages with good moments in the busses. The winner – Linda – was the bus driver who most passengers had voted for.

For the Stagis team this party was the culmination of months of hard work getting campaigns, press work and the actual event going. This year, it started in May with a campaign in the busses that urged bus passengers to send their best moments from a bus trip to the webpage www.buschauffor.dk where users could vote on the best moments and from thousands of text messages, and later on the passengers voted on the nominees to win the award “Bus Driver of the Year”.

Danish entertainer Huxi Bach hosted the event and singer-songwriter Alberte went on stage. Three awards were given to outstanding colleagues in the bus industry, and one lucky passenger won his own bus with a driver for a weekend for having sent the best text message. Movia CEO Dorthe Nøhr was on stage, and Movia market manager Anders Due and Jan Aage Hansen of 3F’s transportation group presented the prizes.

Bus driver Avi Achi, who won the prize "Joker of the Year," thanked his passengers - and Denmark - for giving him the prize in a speech that seemed to touch everyone present. And "Child Friend of the Year", Jan Willum Jensen, sang a children's carrol on stage. For me, these moments were the real treat of the day: Meeting Avi, Jan and especially Linda – the Bus Driver of the Year – and seeing the pride and joy in their eyes. As the first winner of the prize Linda will fly to Singapore with her colleague (who is also her husband) to experience public transportation there. One of the things that thrills Linda, she told me, is that it will be her first time on an aeroplane. Ever. You can meet Linda on ChaufførTV (Bus Driver TV) where she's been active making videos about her life since the spring.

The party gathered bus drivers and passengers to give each other a pat on the shoulder. For the same reason, "Pat Day" (Skulderklappets Dag) was founded - with the bus drivers as ambassadors.

The Pat Day and the party were created to focus on recognition and the bus drivers, who are making an effort to turn bus trips into a good experience for their passengers. The plan is that the awards be given each year, so the focus on good moments and recognition is maintained. It was a proud day for the bus drivers and a proud day for everyone working on the project at Stagis!



Avi Achi is reading a highly unexpected and unusual speech that he prepeared - he thanks his colleagues and Denmark for the life that he now has. The speech touched many in the audience.

Last week we finally launched the new website for 'Kastanievej Efterskole' - a Copenhagen based independent boarding school for lower secondary students. Its been a long process of defining the new framework for the website, developing the information flow, designing, programming and finally introducing the teachers to the new website where everybody contributes to a dynamic site.
Stagis developed identity design and the schools first website 10 years ago, this is only their second site, which we hope will last for many years - if not 10 - less can make it as well!
Kastanievej is one of our oldest clients, why its been important to create a product that corresponds to their needs as well as challenge how they use their website as a tool for communication. One of the new features on the site, is a 'daily life' news stream where every teacher contributes with notes, pictures, movies and sound from their daily work with the students. The news will be directed to relevant pages on the site and create a vivid website, reflecting the colorful life at the boarding school.
The new website evolve the identity design as well as keeping the old spirit of the chestnut leaf which is the characteristic symbol for Kastanievej!

We are closing the office for two weeks, from July 16th through July 31st as we leave to spend time in the sun rather than in the hot office in Kompagnistraede, Copenhagen. We will be back, ready to take on new projects and finalize ongoing work from August 1st.

I have been spending most of my time in June and July in Rome, Italy, working on my book projects. The manuscript for the Danish book titled "Den autentiske virksomhed" was finalized in June after massive editing from a total of 365 pages to 303. While the Danish editor at Gyldendal is reviewing it I will be starting up the other half of the project which is to edit and change various parts in order for the book to be published in an international version. Also, I've been spending time in Italy working with some Italian case studies. On Friday, I'm interviewing one of the masterminds behind the city planning in Rome through the past 20 years, Eugenio La Rocca, Superintendent of Cultural Heritage of the City of Rome during the 90s and 2000s. We will be discussing the paradoxes between massive cultural heritage and the need to change and develop a city. Two important factors that do not always work out nicely - just like in all other aspects of understanding, preserving and changing organizational identity in organizations, large and small.

When I return from Italy and my colleagues return to the office in Copenhagen August 1st, we will also be welcoming a few new members to the Stagis team. During May and June we have been busy recruiting new skilled people and four new faces will show up at Stagis during August and September. I look forward to that and I know everyone else does too!

It is about 35 degrees celcius in Rome today - a bit too much to be in front of the screen if you ask me - I hope you will enjoy the summer as much as I do! Enjoy La Dolce Vita!

I have just begun a two month visit to Accademia di Danimarca in Rome, where I'll be starting a new process of the international edition of "The Authentic Company". During the next week I will be finishing the Danish edition of the book "The Authentic Company". It examines what the three dimensions of authenticity is, how they can be mapped and illustrates through examples how leaders can handle authentic organizational identity. An impressive line of leaders, founders and owners have agreed to enter a discussion of their management practice and the authenticity of their organizations. The Authentic Company offers case studies from Ducati, Alessi, Ferragamo, Hästens, LEGO, BMW, Novozymes and the World's no. 1 restaurant, Noma. The Danish book should be out on Gyldendal this fall... Finally!

In Rome I will be starting the process of an international edition of the book. I will be collaborating with several Italian institutions and organizations as well as discussing a possible Italian publication. Italy is a leading nation in terms of celebrating and utilizing the heritage of organizations, it being commercial companies, industries, cities or regions. More than 50 Italian companies celebrate their cultural history in large high-end corporate museums. The museums are organized in l'Associazione Museimpresa, which is unique in the World. One of the fundamental paradoxes I discuss is, how heritage can be a driver of identity as well as a limitation for development and innovation. A question that leaders across industries and organizations struggle with, it being Alessi, Ducati or the city of Rome.

One of the debates of recent development of Rome is that it takes ages to build the Metro because of the massive presence of ancient history under every street and piazza. Every time they start to dig tunnels, new archeologic treasures pop up. The development of Metro A opened in the 1980s and it took 20 years to build, delayed by archeology. How do you lead and develop a city which is constantly on the verge of becoming a museum of ancient history rather than a place of contemporary life and ongoing development? ABC News reported on the story a couple of years ago.

For the past three years I've been working on 'Den autentiske virksomhed' (or, The Authentic Company, as it may be in English). Now I'm finally coming to an end. There is a full 360-page manuscript which I'm now editing to about 300 pages. I'm planning to deliver the final document to the publishing house Gyldendal Business sometime in May and hopefully see a real book looking a bit like the picture above during the summer. Besides my theory on business strategy development based on the authentic strengths of the organization, there is a string of case studies in the book. Some of them are Noma, LEGO, Ducati, Alessi, Hästens, Novozymes, BMW and Absolut. I've been really lucky to visit them and talk to their CEOs, owners and leaders.

During the fall I'll tour Denmark to talk about The Authentic Company and discuss how companies of all sorts can explore and develop their strengths from within. Some of the talks are already being arranged as I receive calls almost every week from people who want to discuss authenticity and what it means. Here are some of the talks that I'm doing soon:

14. April 2011, Hewlett-Packard Denmark (workshop)
3. May 2011, Vanebryderdagen 2011, 'Bremen' in Copenhagen (conference)
5. May 2011, Dansk Industri (talk)
11. May 2011, Dansk Kommunikationsforening (Day seminar)
13. May 2011, Medieforbundet i DR (workshop)
23. May 2011, Danske Fysioterapeuter (talk)
23. August 2011, FTF (workshop)
10. October 2011, Master of Management Development, CBS (education)
1. November 2011, Efterskoleforeningens lederkonference (talk)

During May we'll put more video clips from some of my talks on the website and once we get closer to the release date of the Danish book we'll start publishing parts of the content here on the blog, on Facebook and elsewhere. We'll make sure you get notice!

If you want to know more or want to book me for a talk, take a look at stagis.dk (Danish) or stagis.com (English). Lots of students want to know more - don't hesitate to write!

On Valentines Day we launched a new campaign in the Copenhagen buses. Some 300 bus drivers handed out roses to some of their passengers in order to create conversation and good vibes. We named it 'Good moments' and several thousand text messages returned from happy customers who appreciate what the bus drivers are doing every day. Like waiting for a moment to pick someone up. Or giving good advice. Or telling a joke. The character of the moments are many - just like the passengers and the bus drivers themselves.

Here's one of the messages that was recently sent as a text message to the website:



(Quick translation: The bus driver welcomed everyone in the bus this morning and now the driver is trying to comfort a baby over the loudspeaker)

Lots of local newspapers covered the story in February. Now we are working on a series of new projects, campaigns and initiatives. Last year the Danish Government decided to expand the project that Stagis started in 2007 and this year lots of projects have external visual impact. Right now we are creating a new design for 'Chauffører med karaktér' (bus drivers with character), a new website, outdoor campaigns and we are planning to inspire the media to forward the good stories about bus drivers in several different ways. The project is defined to run throughout 2011 and many initiatives are expected to become the new standard of the industry.