I previously wrote about our leg of the trip that took us up into the tallest spires of castles and down into the depths of mines dark and damp.
We then headed north, to Copenhagen, in the land of the Vikings.
However, in Copenhagen at least, I’d say it’s now the land of the bicycles, where about 30% of the people there travel and commute by bike.
Aside from dodging bicyclists, I mostly visited with some global executive MBA students at the Copenhagen Business School. I heard some interesting lectures on organizational behavior and strategy, but also just enjoyed meeting the diverse group of students. There were students from all over Europe, the US, and Asia. It was particularly interesting to see how the students interacted with one another, especially with the mix of cultures and the spirit of teamwork and problem solving as groups worked together to analyze business cases. I even gave a lecture to them, presenting “A Brief Look at Information Technology.”
We also peered into two Danish companies, through company visits and company presentations.
CHR HANSEN, a bioscience company, provides cultures, enzymes, and natural food colors to companies worldwide. In their presentation, we learned how managers restructured the company and changed the incentives for how employees worked in order to boost productivity, employee happiness, and company profitability.
For the second company lecture, we visited the Danish sushi and yakitori restaurant Sticks N Sushi, one of Scandinavia’s largest casual dining companies. There, CEO and co-founder Kim Rahbek led us through the core values of his restaurant and how they have grown to 12 locations in Denmark and London.
This growth is no small feat, especially in a city where 73% of restaurants fail within the first year and in a country with (by US standards) extravagant employee benefits and high labor costs.
And of course, we enjoyed plates of delicious sushi and yakitori.
Sticks N Sushi is definitely worth a visit—keep an eye out in case they open a location in your area.
What a great trip!