Ferma: Why not taking the risk is the biggest risk of all

Organisations dealing with a volatile and uncertain world require bold risk leaders, who are prepared to take risks and think differently.

This is according to Jim Hagemann Snabe, chairman of Siemens AG in his closing keynote presentation at Ferma Forum 2022 in Copenhagen.

”At this inflection point we have the biggest opportunity ever to create a better future,” he said. 

In the future, the idea that we ever faced an energy crisis would be ludicrous, he insisted. By using solar and wind sources of energy and solving issues relating to storage and distribution of renewables, energy will be all but free for all to use.

Key to making this happening is taking bold risky decisions - something he has a track record doing at Maersk.

The shipping giant first deciding to divest of its energy businesses, to branch out into logistics and committing to a bold goal of achieving Net Zero in its shipping business by 2050.

At the time, the board had no plan for how it was going to make this transition become a reality and much of the technology needed had not been invented yet.

With the first net zero vessels ready for launch next year (beating the original goal by seven years), the goal of net zero has been accelerated to 2040.

“This moment in history is a big leadership moment,” said Hagemann Snabe. ”We must accept we cannot predict the future or control all of the outcomes, but we must inspire people to pursue opportunities that may not seem possible at the time.”