In the early 1980s I was a hot topic in Sweden.
My friend Sven Atterhed had been paying attention to the Briarpatch and my business following in the hippie world. He realized that my approach had generated hundreds of new startup businesses. He promoted me in the Swedish business world where he was a respected consultant.
It was Sven’s promotion that led the Swedish government to hire me to generate new small businesses.
One of the big Swedish companies, Bofors, which was an arms manufacturing company that once had Alfred Nobel as its president and was founded in the 1600s asked me to speak to its management and engineering team. It was Bofors’ hope that I might give them some new direction in the business world that could lead them out of the military complex.
I did. The following is what happened.
I was flown from Stockholm to a rural traditional hunting lodge somewhere in the backwoods. It was an elegant medieval castle of the sort you see in movies. The classroom was in a separate fairly new building. I spoke to a group of engineers and management. There were about 40 men there to listen to me.
My basic theme was that all business that were currently succeeding in the global marketplace were open. I cited many examples of closed businesses like RCA whose brilliant inventions never became significant in contrast to the open practices of Philips which led to industry domination with new products and engineering.
What I had to say to this group of men who were living in the military world of ultra secrecy must've sounded like the most heretical statement imaginable. There were consequences.
I was hoping for a private luxurious elk dinner and an overnight stay in some elegant prince’s bedroom with sparkling fireplace. That was the setting and the way most guests are treated.
I was not served dinner. I was rushed (I’m serious) to a waiting plane and returned alone to Stockholm as quickly as possible.
So much for the new business insights that Bofors wanted to hear about.