Hi Alexander, how nice to have you here! Tell us a little about your background.
– I am a Master of Science in Engineering from KTH with a whole pile of technical and economic subjects inside the vest. And of course, like many with me, I thought it would be to work in the big industry. ABB, Siemens, Scania – the most common suspects. That did not happen. There was also no return to the hometown, to central Sweden, Sundsvall. I get stuck here in Stockholm, you could say. Even if getting stuck is the wrong word. I noticed that even before the financial crisis at the end of the twentieth century, large companies were cautious. It was tough, in short, says Alexander.
– I started instead at a newly started consulting company with business development and company strategies.
Alexander, then I want to ask you what you call your industry?
– Well, I do not know if I have an industry as such. Would be the consulting industry then. I have not stuck to industries like finance, telecom or the travel industry. I have been lucky and ended up in different places and organizations. Like Ericsson, Folksam, Samhall and the Swedish Tax Agency, to name a few, says Alexander.
– Then one would rather say that my industry and my area are processes and digitization. Regardless of smart systems or smart people, my industry is in a way logic at the center if it is possible to understand. A process can of course be more or less automated. The more modern systems are still the same as before, but now they are easier to combine, like canned processes, you could say. And even though it is standard so, further down, it is a logic and process step. Same for all new elegant ERP systems, cloud solutions and so on. It’s about information and data management, I mean.
Mention an example that comes to mind?
– The big obvious thing is of course Cloud with the whole trip, which is usually described with the “pizza menu” or pizza as a service, one might say better. So to go from traditional on-premises installation, towards infrastructure-as-a-service, platform-as-service away all the way to software-as-a-service. That is, from making the whole pizza yourself with your own assets to having it served at a restaurant.
– That trend has been going on for at least ten years. Some companies are early in the curve, others in the middle and of course there are companies that have a technical debt that is at the back. I have customers all over the scale. At the same time, it makes my job exciting with the opportunities to compare what works well at different stages.
– One must keep in mind that there are risks with all built-up large systems and the transitions that are made from one location to another. For me, it is important to make good descriptions of these situations. You need to know more about size, quality and costs. What is good and what is not as good. It is only then that we can make a good analysis and benchmark. It is precisely this measurement that I see that many people make mistakes. Selects solutions for incorrect data. A good example is the GDPR. It is a basic requirement that you do not include a system that is not proven good at handling handles GDPR. And then design for it. Sounds obvious, but I see the mistakes.
Now you are a consultant at Anchor Management Consulting – Why are you a good consultant?
– Combination of several factors that I think. If you are a person who likes to collaborate with others. Then a good consultant is a relatively ambitious person in my eyes. Then I am one who is happy to help others reach higher goals. I think that is an important factor, says Alexander.
– I don’t consider myself very senior, but I take impressions. Also that I have been dealing with IT issues for twenty years. So it’s a good quality that I can learn from my even more experienced colleagues. That may be an answer to your question, says Alexander.
Alexander, finally, tell us about literature that you think is worth reading.
– Well, now you got me a little quiet. I have no typical cultural book tips. It must be a non-fiction book in that case. “What’s Your Digital Business Model?” by Peter Weill and Stephanie Woerner I have a great of it. Treats digital business models in an understandable way. I think it is worth reading. It is high on the list of recommendations for people in management positions who want to get something useful. Answers, in my opinion, to the questions how to make an organization successful in the future. I like the book and the idea.
– The essence of the book is in many ways that it is important to maintain your data in order. In short, Alexander concludes.
Thank you Alexander. Thank you for this nice chat.
