Our guiding principles

The Vikings had their heyday between 800 – 1050 A.D.  While today the Vikings are mostly recognized  for being fearless warriors and supreme navigators, they were also explorers, settlers & tradesmen with a rich culture.  You can find much of this culture reflected in “Haavamaal,” a book that contains “Sayings of Hár”, (Sayings of the high one).

“Haavamaal” can be translated to “how to behave” and it sets out a set of guidelines for wise living and survival. The Haavamaal is both practical and metaphysical in content. Some of the writings from Haavamaal capture our beliefs as outlined below.

Reputation and afterlife was very important to the Vikings.  Today the idea of “afterlife” has been recreated with the Internet.  You have a reputation long before you are gone, your reputation precedes you and could be out there for eternity.

Cattle die
kinsmen die
all men are mortal.
Words of praise
will never perish
nor a noble name.

Your brand is the first impression your consumers and customers have of you.  Everything you do will impact your brand, your reputation, and ultimately your business success.  A brand is built on holistic thinking and it must be uniform, from the naked truth of who you truly are to the color of your logo.

Two wooden stakes
stood in the field,
there I hung my hat and cloak.
They had character
in fine clothes.
naked I was nothing.

When you have done something once, twice or maybe tens of times, it becomes easier to do it right.  The pleasure of getting it right must be in the improvement, not in the discovery of how to do things.  The lessons from doing beat the learning from reading.

Better weight
than wisdom
a traveler cannot carry.
The poor man’s strength
in a strange place,
worth more than wealth.

Diverse backgrounds, languages, gender, age, cultures and religions enrich any company, institution or process.  But complexity increases with diversity and it is an art form to activate the assets that come with diversity.

The traveller must
train his wits.
All is easy at home.
He who knows little
is a laughing-stock
amongst men of the world.

Most of the time, less is more.  However, you also need to know how to connect with people and bring structure to the way you speak.  Good stories and clear objectives for what you want to say reduce the risk for nonsense.

Much nonsense
a man utters
who talks without tiring.
A ready tongue
unrestrained
brings bad reward.

Most likely someone in the room is smarter than you.  Try to bring out the best in others before you seek to impress.

The cautious guest
who comes to the table
speaks sparingly.
Listens with ears
learns with eyes.
Such is the seeker of knowledge.

In the midst of all the challenges our world is facing right now there is hope in dialogue.

Always rise
to an early meal,
but eat your fill before a feast.
If you’re hungry
you have no time
to talk at the table.

Our mantra is: Early to bed, early rise, work hard and advertise.  We have found that often people forget to advertise.  Success breeds success.

Wake early
if you want
another man’s life or land.
No lamb
for the lazy wolf.
No battle’s won in bed.

We are proud to have traveled a lot, and we still enjoy it.

Well traveled
He is truly wise
who’s travelled far
and knows the ways of the world.
He who has travelled
can tell what spirit
governs the men he meets.