Finland may boast impressive innovation credentials internationally, but within the Nordic region, it lags significantly behind its western neighbour. This disparity was the central topic at a recent webinar hosted by InnoSprint, which attracted innovation experts and business leaders eager to explore solutions.
"Successful companies dare to experiment, learn and renew themselves, but renewal doesn't happen by accident. It requires a culture where creativity, courage and collaboration generate new solutions," explained Taina Laivola, Project Manager at InnoSprint.
The InnoSprint initiative offers SMEs in the Uusimaa region opportunities to develop their innovation culture through 2027. Its services include design sprint workshops, customer research and innovation coaching.
"The only prerequisite is the company's readiness to innovate, and even if that readiness doesn't seem to exist yet, we're happy to help discover it," promised Mia Blanc, Project Specialist at InnoSprint, who presented the initiative to attendees.
Cultural rigidity hampering progress
The webinar's keynote speaker, creative director and champion of bold thinking Brando Louhivaara, presented concerning statistics about Finland's innovation environment. According to research, Finland ranks as the most rigid nation amongst the Nordic countries. This rigidity manifests particularly in the avoidance of uncertainty and deeply entrenched hierarchical practices.
"We should pay more attention to how we treat each other. Are our attitudes hindering or accelerating innovation? There's a fundamental difference," he challenged the audience.
Louhivaara argued that Finland completely lacks a culture of divergent thinking. He believes Finns should create workplaces and a society where new ideas are met with curiosity rather than uncertainty and prejudice.
Customer-centric approach yields results
A practical example of bold innovation culture came from Timo Lappi, founder of health service company Heltti, who emphasised the importance of groundwork. Heltti set out to challenge traditional occupational health service models by conducting extensive research before the company was even established.
"We utilised customer insight to develop the company's business idea and services together with customers and staff. Based on these, we built our company's values together with the staff", he says.
Heltti's values, nicknamed the "miracle four," are lempi, tarmo, hehku and pokka. According to Lappi, the significance of these values in their workplace surprised everyone. They ultimately proved to be an extremely effective management tool around which Heltti's strategy is built.
Innovation as a learnable skill
Principal Lecturer in Service Business at Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, Sirpa Lassila, has observed Heltti extensively. One of her most interesting observations was the company's approach to seeing problems as opportunities.
"My heart might leap into my throat when I noticed a problem, but they would just calmly state, 'Brilliant, now we have an opportunity to create something new,'" Lassila described from her year-long observation of the company.
To improve companies' innovation readiness, Lappi offered four concrete tips:
Discuss ideas with as many people as possible and listen
Dare to dream big
Start piloting quickly
Maintain a culture of continuous development
A call for bolder attitudes
There was strong consensus at the InnoSprint webinar that Finland's innovation environment needs a bolder attitude and greater openness. Each individual should seek more courageous thinking and actively create a culture where excitement about new possibilities is encouraged.
InnoSprint's Business Designer Marika Alhonen, who facilitated the discussion, summarised the webinar's key takeaways. According to her, everyone can influence their own attitudes in everyday life, push boundaries and transform problems into opportunities.
It all comes down to one's willingness and courage to practice.
InnoSprint: The Acceleration Lane for SME Innovations is a project implemented by Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences during 2024-2027, funded by the Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council and the European Union. The project partners include the Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce and the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN).
For more information about InnoSprint and its services, visit their website.
