Transforming NOKIA: The Power of Paranoid Optimism to Lead Through Colossal Change

This is the tale of the near-death and reinvention of Nokia, an iconic Finnish company that, over its 150-year history, has made everything from paper to rubber boots to cellphones, its best-known area of market dominance until the company was blindsided by the success of the iPhone and the Android operating system.This is no dry management tome. In a vivid and suspenseful read, Nokia chairman Risto Siilasmaa details the panic and helplessness that sets in as the company spirals toward oblivion. His account features a rare level of specificity, creating a you-are-in-the-boardroom feeling. One of my favorite aspects of this book was that even after Nokia appeared to find salvation (by selling key assets to Microsoft) it wasn’t yet possible to relax. What if those assets lost value between the time the deal was signed and the time the deal closed? What if regulators in select countries (Nokia is a global corporation, after all) dragged their feet on okaying the deal? Both of these things happened, a reminder that a deal isn’t completed with a big, splashy press announcement—months or even years of nervous waiting can lie ahead.Throughout this book, Siilasmaa provides practical suggestions about assessing the true state of a company’s health and competitiveness, dealing with bad news, and being a tough-but-fair negotiator. I found this book interesting and I also came away with concepts that I can apply to my own business, even though I am a sole proprietor.

A great story of Nokia's fall from grace and turnaround to a new beginning. The narrative is lively and recounting Risto's own experiences first hand. Hence it provides unique insight in the events that shaped the lives of so many Nokia employees, myself included. The story is rich in detail and it was fun to see what the actual twists and turns of the events were compared to the many speculations that were rife in the company in those times of uncertainty.in addition to the entertaining narrative Risto is also presenting his management principles, collectively called Paranoid Optimism, and ties the application of these principles to the narrative to highlight how this chosen approach really made a difference to the events. For me the learnings from the book are distilled to the following quote: "I believe you can create your own luck. By doing the right things, you definitely shift the probability curve in your favour."Even though this is a business book with hard-core principles on how to lead business in general and manage change in particular, it also reads as an entertaining story. Highly recommended.

You need to read this book, small business owner or head of a stock listed company. Mr. Siilasmaa reminds us about the forgotten way to do the business, nowadays has become a serious matter. "The Golden Rules" chapter he covers the principles that should be applied in any business, my favorite is the one which relates to formality and substance relating to meetings, in which he writes “Any meeting where we don’t laugh out loud is a miserable failure!”. Never forget to laugh, running a business is fun.One of the chapters is called “Plan B … and Plan C and Plan D.” where he emphasizes the importance of using scenario mapping. The Plan F does not mean Plan Fail, but Plan F.And the story itself about the company which lost 90% of its market value and the comeback. The route to its rebirth makes for fascinating reading.

Having been an employee during both the ups and downs, it was very nice reading some of the same frustrations and concerns Risto felt. It's like being vindicated. Aside from that though, the main take away for me are the lessons learned. I practice his scenario tree and hope to one day get into a situation where an opportunity/challenge presents itself. Great book

This is a very useful book for current and prospective board members about the role a board did and can play in the direction and governance of a company. Its ideas are applicable for both for-profit and not-for-profit boards and concepts shared by the author are thought-provoking and provide a framework for discussion for boards looking to improve their performance. Highly recommended

What Risto and the team were able to do at Nokia is really remarkable. This book gives a unique peek behind the curtain on topics that one rarely has the opportunity to hear about including boardroom dynamics in huge listed companies, how multi-billion dollar acquisitions are negotiated and company leadership culture reshaped. Must read for professional board members, investors and CEOs.

An absolute delight to read; Insightful account of one of the biggest business failures and subsequent turnarounds of recent years.Well written, thought provoking, and even thrilling at times, this book is a pleasure to read. And it’s even educational, without feeling like a lecture. Highly recommended.

I picked this up after got a hint of this book’s existence and finish it in just a week. Very interesting and from perspective of the man who is in the center of Nokia transformation.For fan of business book and technical history, this is must read.

This is a great story of reinvention but only History will judge Siilasmaa's Nokia another attempt of making it great again!You might need to go to a doctor after reading the book because the path to salvation was quite torturous and painfully. almost like a Christ's "Way of the Cross".The Nokia as a Phoenix was announced in the memo to Nokia employees by the former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop "we are standing on a burning platform" , but Mr Stephen Elop failed in his personal commitment to his senior team in Istanbul that he would “make Nokia sing again”.Mr. Risto Siilasma finished his book vowing for not seeing Nokia burning again, at least in his life time:"A good book should have a proper ending. But Nokia's story goes on and there is no end. There are only new beginnings. Someday, I'd like to read a story about Nokia's next transformation - but preferably not too soon. We have a good plans for the foreseeable future." - Risto Siilasmaa, pp 292-293

Thank you for this open and honest account of what happened to Nokia viewed from a very personal leadership perspective. It clarifies why difficult decisions had to be taken; providing insight in to the available options and justification for choosing the best possible alternatives to address impossibly difficult dilemmas.Strong values gave Nokians a common identify, and as a learning company the mindset was to experiment, improve and innovate for the benefit of consumers. It is inspiring to read about Risto learning how to help others, but I know of many colleagues who will see that as an everyday obligation of Finnish “sisu”.I read how unhealthy autocratic leadership resulted in uninformed or even non-existent decision making that brought Nokia to the brink of catastrophic failure. From the inside, I didn’t witness a toxic culture infiltrate the whole organisation. In fact, even during Bridge the overwhelming employee mindset was still to learn, improve and to own your own future.I now see how senior leadership toxicity had created a constraining environment in which corporate entrepreneurship was all too quickly stifled to protect the status quo. However, thanks to Risto, I have also learned how paranoid-optimism can empower corporate entrepreneurship in any organisation…

È un libro che parla di leadership attraverso la storia degli ultimi 15 anni di Nokia.Mi è piaciuto il fatto che l'autore enfatizza alcuni concetti essenziali per un leader: la fiducia, l'ottimismo paranoico.Ho fatto fatica a entrare ed empatizzare l'autore in alcuni momenti cruciali. Sembra che è stato mediamente facile fare alcune scelte ma scommetto che non lo è stato per nulla.Come da titolo lo consiglio a chi vuole approfondire i concetti che formano un vero leader, cioè una persona che attraverso le sue azioni influenza un gruppo più o meno ampio di altre persone a creare una cosa innovativa, in questo caso la nuova Nokia. Di solito sono i leader nati che hanno questo sesto senso ma in realtà è un concetto tutto fondato sulla fiducia che si forma anche naturalmente tra le persone creando relazioni durature.Buona lettura!

I always wanted to understand how the mobile phone division of a great company like NOKIA almost disappeared from the Market.Transforming NOKIA, provides detail insight information with real life examples on Market Situation and Development, Business and Technology Strategy, Leadership and many other Aspects, more important showing ways how to tackle a dramatic company situation with strong team approach, clear and honest communication, building a company culture on the fundamentals of clear roles, trust, and learning culture just to name few areas….It’s a must read for every manager and beyond within an organization

This book gives insights on how the big corporates work and also showcases how the decisions made by top management make or break the company.