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The Fire Within
I shall start with a
summary of some of the secret knowledge of great
leaders, in honor of one of Norway’s greatest leaders,
who just passed away.
— TD
In
Memory of the Architect of the Norwegian Welfare State
Haakon Lie
September 22, 1905 – May 25, 2009
Over the years, we have learned how emotion affects
performance, morale and well-being in organizations. We
have seen how lack of respect for people can destroy
cooperation between labor and management, cause
productivity to plummet, and even make bankruptcy
inevitable. Now we are beginning to understand the
neurochemistry of emotion, and the findings are more
startling than we expected.
In the October 2005 issue of Scientific American,
Michael Shermer reports on the work done by the Center
for Neuroeconomic Studies at Claremont Graduate
University. Oxytocin, the hormone that stimulates
bonding and love, has been found to be related to
economic growth and prosperity. The fact that powerful
emotion can be created and sustained to ensure the
reaching of economic objectives will likely change the
field of Economics. Such emotions will be enhanced by a
reliable infrastructure; a stable economy; and the
freedom to speak, associate and trade. This validates
work done by prominent economists ever since Adam
Smith. But now we understand the underlying power of
these deeply felt human needs.
Shermer also refers to work done at Emory
University, where Magnetic Resonance Imaging was applied
to thirty-six people who played the game of Prisoner's
Dilemma. This game produces outcome scores that reward
cooperation and punish defection. Among
cooperating players, their brains lit up in the
same areas as those activated by desserts, money and
beautiful faces — the pleasure center of the brain.
Trust increased among these cooperating players, and so
did a camaraderie found among like-minded people. So,
cooperation feels good, trust is gratifying, and love is
addictive, reports Shermer.
Great leaders have always understood this
phenomenon. The architect behind the Norwegian Welfare
State, Haakon Lie, would always develop election
campaigns around themes that appealed to emotion, like "trivsel"
(well-being, enjoyment), "vekst" (growth), "frihet"
(freedom), and "arbeid for alle" (employment for
all). To imprint these themes, he created an
organization of unparalleled cohesion and loyalty,
fueled by information and engagement, and with
contributions made by poets, musicians and artists. His
Social Democratic Party ruled Norway for decades after
World War II, and introduced political reforms that have
remained unchallenged by the conservative governments
that followed. Now, every political party in Norway
tries to copy his formula for success. Politicians like
FDR and Churchill were masters in generating focus and
engagement through emotional appeals. So were JFK,
Clinton and, after 9/11/2001, George Bush. Their
enemies were skilled in arousing anger and hatred and
used this knowledge to fuel the Holocaust and the
insurgencies in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In
2005, Norway celebrated the 100th Anniversary
since she became a free and independent nation. During
that time, the country has become the second most
productive nation in the world, the donor of the largest
share of GDP to developing nations, and for six years
running, the country designated by a U.N. agency as the
best place to live on this Earth. We only have to go
back to 1945 to see a country that was poor, undeveloped
and insignificant by almost any measure in the world
community. The progress to date has been breathtaking
and sustained. Today, Norway has no external debt, a
large and growing government surplus, near-full
employment, and minimal inflation.
I believe that the feelings of optimism and
solidarity that characterized the reconstruction of
Norway after 1945 are behind the uncommon prosperity
that resulted. During that time, Norway enjoyed the
highest life expectancy in the world, while achieving
rapid and competitive industrialization and 100%
literacy. A similar situation existed in the U.S., who
added to the European success story by implementing the
magnificent Marshall Plan, perhaps the greatest
investment in growth and development ever made by a
single country.
We are, thus, reviewing a series of bold, historic
initiatives that were rooted in emotion and engagement,
and that had extraordinary consequences for growth and
development.
Behind each and every one of these initiatives were
a vision, a brilliant and persuasive leader, and a will
to see the job done. Leadership is emotional. It has
to do with change; and it cannot happen without loyal
and dedicated followers.
In 2005 Haakon Lie was 100 years old. Like so many
others, I visited him at his cabin at ULVØYA in the Oslo
Fjord in his centennial year. We had never met, but
because of the reforms he caused to happen in Norway,
now universally supported, I was educated by the best
schools in Norway and the U.S., my health care was paid
for, and my mother enjoyed a secure old age.
Mr. Lie had an education that only took him two
years beyond high school. But in large part because of
him, no one in Norway ever needs to end her formal
education at any specific point, ever, at least not for
economic reasons.
That is quite a legacy.
Born in 1905, Mr. Lie was exactly as old as his
country. He had seen it all, and his education was
etched in his face, and in his mind and heart. What was
denied him became the driving force in his political
career: Everyone should have the education, the health
care, and the opportunities they deserved. And they
deserved all that their talents and hard work would
warrant. Mr. Lie himself was a child of the working
class. His father was a fireman in Christiania (now
Oslo), and worked 112 hours a week. Mr. Lie offered a
simple definition of what was good social policy:
“Everything that helps a single mother with two small
children is good social policy,” said Haakon Lie.
I didn’t know how my meeting with Haakon Lie would
go, back on that summery day in 2005.. He was known to
have strong opinions and quite a temper. He reputedly
had no patience for people he considered ignorant, lazy
or misguided. His mind was sharp as ever, and so was
his tongue —he had recently railed against "stopwatch
home care" that robbed him of the human contact with his
caregivers that he felt he needed. There were people he
hadn't talked with in decades who once were close
friends.
Our brains would decide, right? Guided by the
mysterious chemistry between two people, or its
absence: Trust, or distrust; calm, or turmoil
I just knew that sparks would fly.
In a recent interview with him he had been
characterized as a "human flame."
I had sought him out, so that I, too, would flame.
And I did.
Haakon Lie died today, May 25, 2009, in Oslo — 103
years old.
Rest in peace, Haakon Lie. There is a statue of
you in the mind of every Norwegian.
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