”One of the best books in Danish on this subject. (…) The Authentic Company is an interesting book that invite leaders to focus on the companies inner strengths instead of market analysis and spreadsheets”.

The reviewer Henrik Ørholst from the newspaper Berlingske seems to be fond of my book even though he thinks the book has too many pages and the language is a bit to academic. I’ve certainly considered shortening the cases and the book in order to make it a quicker read and easier to get an overview. On the other hand, I know that some of the managers from the public sector are happy that I use examples that fit their mindset specifically, and managers from public and private healthcare organizations who appreciate the stories and examples that fit their everyday view of work.

The review is accompanied by an interesting article about the corporate museums, largely using examples from the book. I think the upside of the many pages (about 360 including introduction etc.) is that different people with a different focus can find examples, case-studies, research and knowledge that suit their need. I personally hate professionalbooks that only refer the theory and the numbers – I want to story too. What did they do? How did they do it? And in their own words, please... So I’ve included the voices of Jørgen Vig Knudstorp from LEGO, René Rezepi from Noma, Alberto Alessi from Alessi, hoping that when youread the book you get to meet them and find inspiration from them, just like I did when I met them. Even though I largely view organizational authenticity as a strategic way of focusing the business, it is also about personal meetings and the way leaders are able of telling the story about what they did and where they want to bring the organization next.

I am considering making a shorter version of the book. By shortening some of the case studies, taking out some of the contextual descriptions of what I call the “meaning society” (meningssamfundet) and focusing a bit more on the possibilities and tools that a manager can use in order to create an authentic company. So maybe by the end of this year or next year Henrik Ørholst may get a book on the subject with fewer pages.

Here is ashortextract of the review in Danish:

”Bogen har flere eksempler, som alle er spændende. Her finder læseren den utilpassede kok René Redzepi fra restaurant Noma. Her er der opbygget et stærkt brand med udgangspunkt i det nordiske fortælling, hvor der er mad fra vores del af verden, som er i centrum, og iscenesættelsen får alt hvad den kan trække pågodt og ondt. Bedst er historien om den italienske motorcykelfabrikant Ducati, der rejste sig fra ruinerne og blev forvandlet til et succesfuldt brand (…). Sidetallet er oppustet, og det er med til at sløre for budskaberne. Men nårlæseren får destilleret budskaberne, er det en af de bedste bøger på dansk om emnet. Forfatteren har eksemplerne parate igennem hele bogen.”

Noma is once again the World's best restaurant. Through their concept which is at the same time historic and using the terroir of the Nordic region and yet innovative, they are able of creating a unique experience and what I call an authentic identity. When I released my book Den autentiske virksomhed ("The Authentic Company") in March, Nomas CEO Peter Kreiner gave an excellent talk on the authentic identity of the restaurant. He talked about the concept and how Noma has continually been striving to focus and narrow the identity and the concept of the restaurant in order to be more and more clear on the identity and the story of the organization.

You can view a segment of his talk on my vimeo-channel here:

Nomas fornemmelse for tid og sted med Peter Kreiner

I was evry pleased to participate in a live interview on Danish TV2 News this evening during the event in London where the 50 best restaurants 2012 were named. You can also read about Noma and the importance of their identity in the article Det gør Noma rigtigt ("What Noma is doing right") on Berlingske www.b.dk today (Danish article).

Vi søger en dygtig projektkoordinator til at dække en bred palette af opgaver indenfor salg, promovering, eventkoordinering og kommunikation for Nikolaj Stagis. Jobbet bliver i de kommende dage slået op på en række websites. Du kan læse hele opslaget på vores job-side.

Den nye projektkoordinators primære ansvar bliver at booke foredrag og arrangere events med samarbejdspartnere for Nikolaj Stagis og bogen “Den autentiske virksomhed”. Desuden får du rollen som assistent for Nikolaj Stagis, hvilket omfatter hjælp med stort og småt i det daglige, herunder planlægning og koordinering.

Jobbet medfører koordinering, aftaleindgåelse og kommunikation om events, foredrag, workshops, mediesamarbejder og assistance omkring udgivelse af Nikolajs bog på udenlandske markeder. Opgaverne er primært i Danmark i 2012, men på sigt også i udlandet. Events arrangeres i samarbejde med organisationer, brancheforeninger, medier, virksomheder og universiteter. Du får ansvar for salg og booking, herunder kontakt til arrangører og en lang række lancerings- og kommunikationsopgaver.

DINE KOMPETENCER
Du har erfaring med salg, relationsopbygning og projektkoordinering. Du motiveres af ambitiøse mål og kan godt lide at præstere både alene og for at understøtte teamet. Du er imødekommende og menneskekender – både på telefonen og live. Du er en dygtig skriftlig formidler og taler og skriver flydende engelsk og evt. et tredje sprog. Du har læst virksomhedskommunikation, branding, strategi eller marketing på kandidat-/masterniveau. Jobbet er på fuld tid.

Yesterday a photo exhibition ”Bus from Bagdad” opened at Kongens Nytorv, just between the Metro and Strøget – probably the best spot in Copenhagen, where more than 10.000 people walk by every day.

Inside a bus the mayor of integration in Copenhagen, Anna Mee Allerslev, gave a great speech on the relationship between meaningful work and successful integration.

The exhibition is part of the Stagis project Bus Driver with Character. The photographer, Henrik Saxgren, is giving voices to 30 bus drivers with foreign background, telling their stories and thereby pulling them out of anonymity. The exhibition will be on the road the next five months and can be seen in several major cities in Zealand. See the tour plan and read more about the background of the exhibition.

Vi søger en erfaren designer/AD'er, som vil være med til at sætte kursen for det kreative arbejde i Stagis de kommende år. Jobbet er slået op på markedsforing.dk, danishdesignassociation.com, danishdesigners.com og bureaubiz.dk. Her er et udsnit af jobopslaget, som du også kan se på vores job-side:

Designchef
Art director som brænder for design af visuel identitet og image-kampagner
Du brænder for at udforme identitet og skabe brands, og er både fagligt dygtig og ambitiøs nok til at hæve vores kreative niveau. Vi arbejder på tværs af medier og faggrænser, og fokuserer på at skabe den løsning, der bedst udtrykker kundens autentiske identitet. Ligesom os har du høje forventninger til konceptuelt stærke løsninger og kvalitet i eksekveringen.
Hvis du har en drøm at være selvstændig, så læs videre. Stagis er en lille virksomhed, som kører på lige dele passion, talent og ambitioner og vi er på jagt efter potentielle partnere.

Stagis udløser potentialer
Stagis lever af at få øje på virksomhedens potentiale og folde det ud ved at udvikle brands og designe visuel identitet, image-kampagner, websites, tryksager – alt hvad der kommunikerer. 
Du har lyst til at indgå i teamet og være ansvarlig for udviklingen af identitet og visuel kommunikation, som er baseret på indsigt og afspejler virksomhedens sjæl. Vi står over for at vækste Stagis til det næste niveau og vil i løbet af det kommende år ansætte medarbejdere med potentiale til at gøre Stagis større og stærkere.

Dine kompetencer
Vores nye designchef har mere end fem års bureauerfaring, kommer fra én af de anerkendte design-uddannelser, kan vise en stærk portfolio, en imponerende kundeliste og trives godt med både at nørde med detaljerne alene og udvikle løsninger i samråd med et team af faste eller freelance kolleger. Du kan gøre rede for et koncept både på skrift og ved et præsentationsmøde, du trives med at tage føringen og du kan lide at have kundekontakt.

Du har udviklet logoer, navnetræk og brands, kan udtænke koncepter på brand-niveau og til image-kampagner og udvikle idéer til interaktive websites. Og så er du detaljeorienteret nok til at sikre, at projektet bliver fulgt til dørs og leveret i høj kvalitet. Du har erfaring med at planlægge og gennemføre større projekter i samarbejde med strategikonsulenter, tekstforfattere og webudviklere.

We are very proud and exited to announce that we have been chosen to assist the City of Copenhagen in their pursuit to win the European Green Capital Award in 2014.

The prestigious award, which is given annually by the European Commission, is an endorsement of the winner as the most green city in Europe.

The City of Copenhagen has been shortlisted along with Bristol and Frankfurt Am Main to make a final presentation before a European Commission jury in Bruxelles on June 8. Stagis will assist the City of Copenhagen in creating a presentation that will highlight the unique “green” qualities that Copenhagen possesses.

In the process of identifying Copenhagen’s green qualities, Stagis will utilize a 3-part process involving culture, design and communication. First, we will identify and document specific examples of the City’s way of working with green solutions. Secondly, we will create a design for the presentation that will help to showcase these examples. Finally, we will produce a plan for communicating our findings in the final presentation and help to train the presenters.

During the months of April and May, we will work intensively on creating the best possible presentation of Copenhagen as Europe’s greenest Capital. If all goes according to plan, Copenhagen will be awarded the title of European Green Capital 2014 at the award ceremony in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain on June 29 2012.

Casper Vorting does something nobody else does. He produces beer the old fashioned way. Boegedal Brewery (Bøgedal Bryghus) produces beer without the use of pumps or thermostats of any kind. Casper uses original recipes from the 18th centrury and brews his beer using methods dating more than 100 years back. Even location is a farmstend from the 1840’s. All these factors establishes Boegedal’s authentic position. Everything is done by hand and every brew is unique, when Casper mixes the ingredients by heart.

Boegedal Brewery is an excellent example of a small company that has positioned itself on the basis of the tradition of the craft and the producers own personal history, its dissociation with the market and the high level of personal presence. The marketing strategy is also different from other brands, while bottles are sold only through the best restaurants in Denmark and internationally and through exclusive wine merchants. Meet Casper Vorting in this film or at the conference at ARoS on May 24.

If you didn't have a chance to join us at the book conference "Den autentiske virksomhed" in February you'll have a chance to discover some of the ideas on video - here is Casper Vortings talk:

Det autentiske bryg – med Casper Vorting fra Bøgedal Bryghus from Nikolaj Stagis.

"Inspiring and sympathetic management book with analysis and cases of international quality and scope." This is how the danish newspaper Politiken starts its review of Nikolaj Stagis' book The Authentic Company. Politiken uses hearts as a rating system, and the book recieves five out of six hearts from the reviewer, Kresten Schultz Jørgensen.

Here is a short extract of the review in Danish:

”Inspirerende og sympatisk lærebog, hvis analyse og cases har internationalt vingefang. Man fatter jo ladestokken og strammer kuglen helt nede i løbet ved mødet med endnu en bog om ”autentisk” kommunikation. Som Henrik Marstal så rigtigt analyserede begrebet i Politikens kronik 17.2 er ”autenticitet” pr. definition en relativ størrelse, en kamelæon, der kan bruges til at betegne næsten hvad som helst afhængigt af sammenhæng. Så hvad i alverden, kan man spørge, vil en tænksom kommunikationsmand som Nikolaj Stagis med en bog udgivelse om den autentiske virksomhed? Grave et spadestik dybere med en øvelse, der faktisk lykkes med en gennemarbejdet og klog bog om et begreb, man sagtens kan grine af, men som ikke rigtig kan undværes (…)
Bogens kommunikationsprojekt er en linedans: Forfatteren redegør for, at vi lever i postmoderne tider, hvor beskueren insisterer på at have ret, og hvor spin og overflade dominerer. Svaret er ifølge Stagis, at virksomhederne – hvis de har noget at byde på – i stigende grad søger indad efter identitet og de vandbærende lag. Dér ligger, i en verden af mediestøj og markedsanalyser, muligheden for at fremstå autentisk”.

At the art museum ARoS on Aarhus managers from two of Denmark’s most successful companies share their stories on the development of their business’ authentic identity.

“LEGO Idea House is a sanctuary, that shows where we come from. The first casting machine, carpenter's bench, our first motto cut out in tree in that carpenter workshop, in that building, where it took place. It is full of sounds and smells and old products and archives”. In the book “The Authentic Company” written by Nikolaj Stagis, that is how Jette Orduna describes the significance of the LEGO museum.

But the LEGO Idea House is much more than a dusty museum. Both the developers and the management in LEGO utilise the house to generate ideas, for sales meetings, management meetings and the like. The company’s history is used actively in the daily work and that is a completely calculated strategy. Come and take part in the conference where Jette Orduna will talk about the significance that the museum has for LEGO, a company that in only 6 years turned crisis into success and to day turn out one record-profit after another.

While LEGO is an excellent example of a large authentic company, Bøgedal Brewery is an excellent example of a small company that has positioned itself on the basis of its history, its dissociation with the market and the high level of personal presence. Bøgedal is a two-man business, with only an outcome of 700 bottles of each brew. The bottles reaches the consumer through the best restaurants in Denmark and internationally and through exclusive wine merchants. Casper Vorting, one half of the two-man business, will at ARoS share the secret behind the success.

Nikolaj Stagis will not only facilitate and host the conference but will also talk about the methods to define organisational authentic identities with the aim to create companies with transparent purposes, uses their history actively and differentiate itself in the market. He will use several of the case-companies from the book, among others Ducati, BMW Museum, Alessi and Hästens.

The conference will take place in the auditorium at ARoS the 25th of May:
15.00-16.00 Book signing
16.00-19.00 Conference
19.00-20.00 Networking

Participants have the opportunity to visit the museum exhibitions both before and after the conference. The price for the conference including a copy of the book “Den autentiske virksomhed" (in Danish) is 590 kr. The price for the conference alone is 300 kr. Buy your ticket here. Stagis is hosting the conference in corporation with the Danish Chamber of Commerce and Erhverv Aarhus.

On February 23rd I launched the Danish book "Den autentiske virksomhed" (The Authentic Company) in the Old Stock Exchange in Copenhagen. During the conference and the reception in the evening some 300 guests joined the event. I was especially grateful to Federico Minoli, former CEO of Ducati and Dr. Andreas Braun from BMW in Munich for travelling to Copenhagen to join the conference and deliver two very interesting talks about the turnover of Ducati and the ideas and qualities of the BMW Museum.

We've just created a video channel where we'll present videos regarding authenticity and the book "Den autentiske virksomhed". The first eight videos are available now - all from the event in the Old Stock Exchange. Most of them are in Danish but Minoli and Dr. Braun and the last video with the panel discussion are in English.

The presenters on stage were:
Peter Kreiner, Noma
Andreas Braun, BMW
Majken Schultz, CBS
Astrid Gade Nielsen, Arla
Casper Vorting, Bøgedal
Nikolaj Stagis, author

If you didn't have a chance to join us at the event you'll have a chance to discover some of the ideas - if you were there you can rediscover the talks. I'm working on a new Danish website that will accompany the book - it's soon to be launched... You can watch the first video with Federico Minoli here:

Hvordan jeg lærte fra Ducatis fans med Federico Minoli from Nikolaj Stagis.