No Fear of Failure: Real Stories of How Leaders Deal with Risk and Change

Chapter Eleven

OLLI-PEKKA KALLASVUO: COURAGE

When I first sat down in March 2010 to talk with Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, who was then CEO and president of Nokia, he made a comment that in many ways shaped this book: “To me, the most important leadership word is courage because as a leader you have to be at ease with the possibility that you might fail.” From his statement, as well as the observations of other leaders interviewed, the seeds for this book were sown.

Later in 2010, Kallasvuo, who goes by his initials “OPK,” had to live through stinging criticism on a global stage. Despite a 34-percent global market share for its cell phones, Nokia found itself the subject of speculation by bloggers and analysts about its ability to compete, particularly ...