Interview with Mikko Leskelä
Henrik Liimatainen
Could you please tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?
I'm originally from Lapua which is a small town in western Finland. After graduating from high school I ended up studying theology in University of Helsinki, and later on I also was accepted to Helsinki School of Economics where I chose finance as my major. By 2008 I had graduated from both schools and was pursuing my career at Nokia's M&A team. Nowadays I'm a co-founder and partner at Noren, which is a strategy consulting company specialised in using methodologies of human sciences.
How did you end up shifting from theology to studying business and finance?
In retrospect, the decision to study theology was not well informed; it was rather based on my religious conviction and the guidance I received from various sources while studying in high school. Although I enjoyed my theology studies, I quite soon started to realise that the career opportunities theology could provide did not match with my ambitions. Moreover, during the tech bubble I had seen how e.g. business, engineering and law students had much better access to interesting jobs. This made me think that I should study something more practical, and I was considering between law and finance. Eventually, I chose to study finance in Helsinki School of Economics and graduated in 4 years while simultaneously working full-time.
What are the best things you gained from studying finance?
To begin with, I would not be able to work as a consultant if I would not have gained the comprehensive business understanding that I received from my finance studies. But probably the best thing I gained from those years were the social contacts that are nowadays very important for me. Looking back, it is fascinating how shared student life experiences helped to create bonds with people that I currently do business with. Having something in common with people you face in board rooms is very important, and building a long-lasting network of friends is definitely the most valuable asset I gained from my finance studies.
You started your career working in M&A and banking. What reflections do you have from those years?
Working for Nokia during its golden years and eventually seeing the start of the downfall is an experience that is difficult to describe for anyone that has not gone through it. The work in Nokia's M&A team was very challenging, but also intellectually interesting and rewarding. Furthermore, I feel it was a great learning experience since I practically gained several years of working experience in just few years. After Nokia I worked 3,5 years at OP, first with M&A financing after which I moved to lead the group level strategic planning.
In 2014 you moved from OP to Palmu, a service design consultancy. What motivated you to shift from banking to a service design agency? How did it differ from working in finance?
During the last years in OP I started to get familiar with concepts that utilized social sciences in strategy work. Back then, Palmu was one of the best agencies working on that front and I thought it was something new and refreshing after working in finance. At Palmu I learned from the best how to apply research methods used in social and human sciences into consultative work - something that is bread and butter for me nowadays. Moreover, one of the best things I learned at Palmu was how to do sales. Beginner's luck or not, I earned a legendary status since I was able to convert a cold call to a sale on my very first week at Palmu.
In your current work you use research methods of social sciences to provide consulting and insights for customers. How does this differ from traditional management consulting?
They are complementing methodologies: you cannot do good strategy consulting without using the traditional methodologies that have their philosophical roots in the STEM sciences (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). However, there's an increasing amount of problems where traditional methodologies do not provide enough insight to stay on top of competition. Especially when you need to create something new where you need to understand people's complex behaviours or mechanics to give things a meaning. STEM say nothing about it.
In 2020 you published your first book “Bisnesantropologia ja muut ihmistieteet strategiatyössä (Business anthropology and other human sciences in strategy work)”. Can you tell us about the idea behind the book and why you decided to write it?
It's the first concise presentation of non-STEM sciences use in solving wicked business problems. The methodologies are very common in most of the leading tech companies. We have no such companies in Finland, and very few in the Nordics, and that's why many of the methodologies are unknown here. But for example Spotify is a great exception to this and that's why I cover Spotify's analysis methodologies when they make a decision on how to expand to new markets or change their offering in current markets. It's a combination of social sciences and some fairly traditional business case modeling.
What kind of goals you have for your future career?
I've never really thought about a career. You see so many people who are neurotic about their careers, and it does them no good. Rather I focus on the kinds of things and people I fill my days with. So, I gather around some of the best, most versatile young thinkers and I get the most exciting problems from the market for us to solve. And I believe this will establish our company as "the" go-to human sciences centred strategy consulting company in Finland & Sweden in the next five years. We're well on track to do just that.
What would be your advice for a 25-year old Mikko?
That's a good question. I might tell him to become an entrepreneur faster and skip some of the 'inhouse' roles because they rarely accelerate your learning, and a big part of them is corporate politics bullshit. But I'm not sure of that. Many times in life you first need to suffer enough to appreciate the possibility for a different choice. Maybe it is exactly because I've seen also some of the worst of corporate life that I understand senior management so well and am able to help them. Go figure.
Henrik Liimatainen is a former Editor-in-Chief of AFA Quarterly.