CEO Today Magazine July 2018 Edition

roles prepared you to run this company? I have been an entrepreneur my entire adult life. I founded one of Sweden’s biggest financial communications firm back in 2004 and it has been a profitable company ever since. Along the way, I have founded and managed many associate companies and subsidiaries, developed communication platforms and established Laika in its current position as a top- tier financial communications consultancy. What has been We Don’t Have Time’s greatest achievement so far? What would you attribute this to? We have come from nothing and gained a fantastic reach. As I mentioned, over a million people have interacted with us through social media, our blog and our action tools. What makes me proudest is that we get daily requests from people that want to help our organisation from all around the world. For me, this is proof of concept. We are already attracting ordinary citizens that are concerned about this issue. When our platform is launched, they will join it and our movement will gain momentum. What do you anticipate in the year ahead for We Don’t Have Time and yourself? The launch of the first version of the platform will be a huge milestone for us. We also plan to follow up on our successful conference event. living green is not a sacrifice, it’s a better lifestyle. What importance does social media have in today’s professional business world and associated activism? How do you think this has changed over the years? I think it’s beyond doubt that social media is a real game changer. Institutions and organisations don’t have the same control over their message and the image they project. So they must be much more proactive in terms of building relations with influencers and creating innovative strategies that work in today’s media landscape. It’s much harder for corporations to gloss over irresponsible behaviour. The crowd, or actually, the market, will immediately punish them for that. With We Don’t Have Time we want to accelerate this trend with a strong focus on sustainability. What difficulties, if any, have you run into in the process of building We Don’t Have Time from the beginning? How did you work through them? As a tech company, we are dependent on much sought- after, and expensive, technical competence and to continuously work hard on QA. It takes time to find, educate and manage the development team. I don’t think we have had more difficulties in this area than any other start-up, but it’s the single most challenging issue that we face, especially for a fast-growing company like ours. But that sort of makes sense, because developing the platform is key to building company value. How have your previous experiences and professional try to become really good at something – for instance eat more green food – and be vocal about it. Above all, be a positive role model by showing your peers that you can come a long way by choosing a green alternative, be it a vegetarian diet, train travel, or something else. Show that What can we do as individuals to aid in the battle against climate change? By making conscious, informed choices, and sticking to them. The best way to influence others is to set a strong example. Don’t try everything at once, instead “We need to act for the climate. Not just talk about it!”