Vice president of Husqvarna Group Johannes Bäckman, is staying on top of his field with the help of his professional peer group.
When he first heard about EGN more than 25 years ago, he was working in China. But when he returned to Sweden, he quickly became a part of a peer group.
”It was my manager who thought it would benefit me and the company. He thought it was a great idea for me to meet with industry people to discuss common issues.”
Having been through university and then working extensively with practical cases afterward, Johannes realized that more theoretical training wouldn’t give him much. It was case studies, he needed more of.
“To me, it beats the hell out of taking a course. That’s academic knowledge. I do that as well, but then I study things like astrophysics or cellular biology on a hobby level.”
In his position as a VP in a large corporation, finding sparring outside the organization can sometimes be hard, but that is what his peer group provides.
“Coming to a group meeting is like opening a window to the outside world. It’s a group that I feel like I can discuss almost everything with.”
Millimeter by millimeter
Johannes Bäckman has a complex job with a constant stream of new and unique tasks.
“My work is always project-oriented. It’s a mixture of strategy and project work, and you need financial skills, legal skills, and negotiation skills, but each case is unique and specific.”
And because each case is different, discussing in his peer group how people work and how they reason gives him a broader understanding and awareness of situations that he may go into.
“You know, it’s a little bit here, a little bit there, one millimeter over here one millimeter over there. You don’t bring a problem and just get the solution for it. That’s not how it works, but it makes you better.”
Hosting the meeting
For his next peer group meeting, Johannes Bäckman will be the host. This brings an extra opportunity for him to bring up a dilemma or something he wants to discuss with his group.
“It’s an opportunity to be very open and very frank about your issues and challenges, whatever they may be.”
Navigating in a large corporation can also oftentimes be difficult, so being able to hear how others handle strategies internally can be very helpful.
“Those are the type of things you want to talk about, and then it can also be helpful working with your potential targets.”
Being a part of EGN brings everything Johannes needs to stay on top of his field.
“I just said to my boss, I’m not going to do any corporate training whatsoever. I will spend this amount of money on EGN. That’s it.”
