9Oct2024
Morten Hansen, an award-winning management professor and the author of bestselling books like Great at Work and Great by Choice, is renowned for his research on leadership, teamwork, and performance. With a background in academia and corporate strategy, he combines deep research with practical insights. His keynote at Nordic Business Forum 2024 focused on a theme central to his work—courageous discipline—and how it drives high performance in organizations, teams, and individuals.
The Story of Two Polar Expeditions
Morten began his speech by recounting the story of two expeditions to the South Pole in 1911, led by Norwegian Roald Amundsen and British explorer Robert Falcon Scott. Both teams faced similar conditions: extreme cold, storms, and the vast, uncharted wilderness of Antarctica. Despite these similarities, Amundsen’s team succeeded, while Scott’s tragically failed.
This polar story served as a powerful metaphor for the central question Morten posed: Why do some teams and leaders succeed while others fail?
Morten’s research, spanning decades, revealed that talent, grit, and experience are essential but insufficient. What truly differentiates high performers from the rest is the adoption of certain smart work practices—what he calls “courageous discipline.”
Discipline 1: The Power of Saying No
Drawing on the South Pole expedition, Morten explained that Amundsen focused solely on using dogs for transportation, while Scott hedged his bets by using five different methods, including man-hauling and motor sledges. This lack of focus ultimately contributed to Scott’s failure.
“Focus is not about doing more; it’s about saying no to what doesn’t matter, even when it’s a good idea.” Morten cited Apple under Steve Jobs as an example of disciplined focus. Jobs was known for saying no to multiple projects to concentrate entirely on the iPhone, a decision that proved pivotal for the company’s success. Similarly, Southwest Airlines thrived by adhering to a simple, focused business model that involved flying only short, direct routes with a single type of aircraft.
Discipline 2: The Discipline of Marching
Morten introduced the second discipline as consistency over time, using the metaphor of “marching.” He highlighted how Amundsen’s team progressed steadily every day, covering 10-20 miles, regardless of conditions. Scott’s team, on the other hand, either pushed too hard on good days or remained immobile on bad days, which led to exhaustion and eventual failure.
“Consistency is the key to long-term success,” he said.
Morten noted that it takes more courage to hold back when things are going well than to push too far and risk losing everything. As an example, he cited Stryker, a leading medical device company, which maintained a disciplined approach to achieving 20% profitability, both in good and bad years, in contrast to competitors whose performance fluctuated wildly.
Morten advised leaders to identify a key metric to march toward—whether it’s profitability, customer satisfaction, or market expansion—and set both a lower bound —the minimum acceptable performance— and an upper bound to avoid overextending in boom times.
Discipline 3: The Discipline of Creativity
While execution and focus are important, Morten cautioned against rigidity. The downfall of many successful companies, he noted, is their inability to innovate when the market changes. He illustrated this with the example of Digital Equipment Corporation, a company that failed to adapt to the rise of personal computers, clinging to its successful minicomputer business until it was too late.
Morten encouraged leaders to embrace a disciplined approach to innovation—what he called “experiment and scale.” Companies should run small, controlled experiments before committing to large-scale investments. He cited Progressive Insurance as an example of a company that learned from its failures and succeeded by experimenting with new markets before scaling up.
Discipline 4: Upskilling Talent in the Age of AI
Hansen then turned to the importance of upskilling talent, particularly in the context of technological advancements like artificial intelligence (AI). He warned that AI is transforming many industries, and individuals and teams need to continuously evolve their skills to remain relevant.
He used the example of Sally, an HR professional, who gradually adopted AI tools to automate routine tasks, such as resume screening. This allowed her to focus on higher-value activities like onboarding and employee coaching.
Discipline 5: The Courage to Fire
Finally, Morten introduced the most controversial discipline: the courage to fire. He recounted how Amundsen made the tough decision to leave behind a hard-working team member who had caused disunity. This painful choice was necessary to preserve team cohesion and achieve success.
“It’s not enough to be a lone star,” he said. “You need to contribute to the success of the entire team.”
The Key of Courageous Discipline
Morten concluded his keynote with a reminder that great performance requires more than just talent and hard work. He emphasized that by focusing, maintaining consistency, fostering disciplined creativity, upskilling talent, and making tough personnel decisions, leaders can guide their teams and organizations to success.
“Victory awaits the one who has everything in order; luck, some people call it” Hansen quoted from Amundsen. However, he prefers to think of it not as luck, but as courageous discipline.
Key Points
- What truly differentiates high performers from the rest is the adoption of certain smart work practices, a “courageous discipline.”
- Successful leaders must have the courage to say “no” to many good opportunities in order to focus on the few that truly matter, enabling teams to dedicate their energy and resources to what they do best.
- Consistency over time—the discipline to maintain a steady march toward a goal—is another key practice that leads to sustained success.
- While focus and consistency are crucial, companies must also adapt and innovate. Creativity involves disciplined experimentation, learning from failures, and scaling up successful ideas.
- Equally important to upskilling talent is the courage to let go of employees who fail to contribute to the team’s overall success, even if they are strong performers in isolation.
Questions for Reflection
- What key tasks or opportunities should you say “no” to in order to focus on what truly matters?
- How can you create a steady “marching” metric in your business to ensure consistent performance?
- What small-scale experiments can you launch to foster innovation without overcommitting resources?
- How can you upskill your team to leverage AI and focus on higher-value tasks?
- Do you have the courage to remove individuals who undermine team cohesion, even if they are top performers?
