Denmark’s work culture
What the ‘flat hierarchy’ means in practice
He was one of Denmark’s most powerful men, the head of one of its most admired companies, taking some of his valuable time to visit its US operations.
Meeting some of the American employees at “eye level” was part of his plan for the day. So at lunch hour, he stood in the company cafeteria, waiting for team members to approach him with ideas and feedback.
But nobody did. And as this powerful man stood and waited as employees walked by with their trays of food, it all became rather embarrassing.
The US employees, while happy to see him, wondered what in the world he was doing there. Didn’t he have something more important to do?
And if they were to speak to him directly, what would they say?