Managing yourself

What inspires you?

• I listen to several podcasts; I like Freakonomics and the bit-sized Harvard Business Review pods.
• The biography "Winning: The Ultimate Business How-To Book" - a Jack Welch biography.
• I also love documentaries, and I really enjoyed Bill Gates' biography on Netflix.

How do you manage your calendar?

• My calendar is very important and central to how I manage and operate as CEO. I fill it with all my work-related activities.
• I use it not only for meetings, but to block out time to prepare before meetings, and to focus on projects and other work.
• I also manage my to-do list in my calendar.
• By the end of the year, I examine the months and weeks in the calendar, to see what has been accomplished and to plan for the next year.

How do you manage your inbox?

• I read all emails every day.
• I move some of the emails into important folders.
• Then, every year before the summer vacation and the New Year, I move all mail in my inbox to a folder with the date of when it was created. I´m always surprised by how few times I have to go back to these folders.

How do you take notes?

• I remember better when I take notes. I rarely go back to them.
• I use Remarkable for notetaking, which is a truly remarkable product.

When do you get up, and when do you arrive at the office?

• I have a minimalistic morning routine. I get up at 06.30 and do 4 minutes of exercise: squats for my back and 12 hang-ups.
• I get into the office at around 07.45.

When do you leave work and quit for the night?

• I leave the office at 16 to 16:30, and then I do a little catch-up of work later before going to bed.

Do you do any work on weekends?

• I do check my email and check in on the sales numbers.
• If there is work I have to complete during the weekend, I inform my family and schedule the work and try to do it as efficiently as possible.

Do you use any productivity hacks?

• I´m a big believer in “eat the frog,” and with that, I mean first tackling the week or the day´s most difficult tasks. Then everything else becomes easier, and I get a real sense of accomplishment.

What do you do when things are really tough?

• My natural instinct is just to work harder, and tough times make me more productive.
• it´s natural to focus on yourself, but I have learned that when I feel hardship, so does the rest of the organization, so I try to spend extra time talking and encouraging them.
• It´s lonely at the top, and since we are listed on the stock exchange, there are only a few I can confide in. My wife is always a great support, giving me advice with a deep understanding of me. Sometimes, she is a little too eager with the advice, and I must tell her that I just need to get some things off my chest.

How many hours per week do you work?

• As a CEO, you are always thinking about the business. I don´t spend the longest hours in the office, but I am always available and ideas for the business and challenges come at all times. 

If you could only work 10 hours per week, what would you do?

• 1,5 hours with the leadership team.
• 1 hour communicating to the whole company.
• 7,5 hours of managing the individual managers 1-1.

What´s your perspective on AI?

• It’s super exciting. It will create enormous opportunities. I´m struggling to see all the possibilities, but I firmly believe that it will create a significant competitive advantage for the companies that use it early and do it well.

What are your most important CEO traits?

• Based on feedback from employees, I´m good at getting the most out of people and motivating them to do their best work.
• I can also mix being strategic and operational during the day or week.
• I´m also confident in my communication abilities. 

Managing your team

How do you run meetings?

• All planned meetings have an agenda that is sent out before the meeting starts.

• I often block my calendar before a meeting, to make sure that I´m prepared.
• I start all meetings by walking through the agenda. I like structured meetings and stick to the agenda.
• I take meeting notes myself and send out a short summary and action points with responsiblities.
• Meetings should be effective. If a 2-hour meeting can be done in 45 minutes, it is a win.

• I hire the management team and is involved in hiring the managers of our stores.
• Recruiters, recommendations, and personal networks are our source of candidates.
• In an interview setting, I always ask the candidates to go back further in their history than they usually do, and I like to know about their parents. Understanding where a candidate is coming from, helps me to know them at a deeper level. 
• We do several tests in the interview process (Cut-e) to assess the candidate.
• I meet the candidate at least 2 times since recruiting is very important.

How do you fire?

• It always starts with honest feedback, and the result can be one of three.
• They improve, and there is no longer a problem. They don´t improve, and a process of close supervision is initiated, eventually leading to them leaving, or they report in sick, and then it is a slow-moving process until they eventually leave.

How do you motivate your team?

• I´m positive and good at focusing on what we have achieved.
• I´m transparent with employees, and on a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is not open at all, I´m an 8. 
• I try to give managers tasks that combine the difficult with easy wins.
• The team gets motivated when I go into hands-on mode.
• I am curious and naturally interested in people, not only their role as employees.
• I point out company wins and individuals in meetings to build a performance culture.

How do you communicate internally?

• We use Workplace for internal communication. I was better at giving regular updates earlier in my career. I now do weekly all-hands meetings but infrequent company communication. I should communicate more to the entire company. 

What is your tolerance for mistakes?

• Mistakes are just a part of business. I try to examine mistakes analytically. What went wrong, why did it go wrong, and what can we learn from it?

What is your advice to a first-time CEO?

• Don´t try to do too much.
• Remember, you got the role for a reason.
• Don´t underestimate the number of people that examine what you do and how you do it.

What are some of the most difficult decisions you have made?

• Personally, the most difficult decision for me is when I have to let people go.
• Lately, decisions related to marketing have been a struggle. To find the right channels with the right message with so many options is a challenge.

What do you do that most CEOs don´t do?

• I love to do CEO stuff, but I´m always willing to get my hands dirty. Employees react very positively, and I don´t mind it.

How concretely do you build a performance culture? 

• I give my managers very clear areas of responsibility and make my expectations clear.
• I then follow up regularly, and I´m very stubborn about achieving the goals we have set. If we are behind, we just have to work harder.

Managing your health

Do you exercise, and do you have a protocol for your health?

• I was a very active Ice Hockey player, so I like to keep in shape.
• I always train at least twice a week, sometimes four. I do a combination of running and strength training.
• I am super strict with what I eat from Monday until Friday at lunch. Then I eat whatever I want.

How do you manage relationships?

• I share troubles and successes at work with my family. They are a great support and deepen our relationships.
• If you work smart, then being a CEO gives you flexibility. I try to use that flexibility to be present for my family.