Channeling Our Inner Scandanavians
Friends!
Last week, I was trying to bring up the infectiousness of the people we are with. Both positively and negatively.
This week, my partner, Tony, reminded me of the importance of context and asked that I'd bring this back home. (Literally.) So I thought I'd try.
I was born and raised in Sweden. And, as with all cultures, you can take Mats out of Sweden (which obviously I did!), but you can't take Sweden out of Mats.
Clearly, the context for our upbringing shapes us more than I think we can fully comprehend. And the point for bringing this up is NOT to understand me as much as it is to illuminate what characteristics of Scandinavian culture might be worth better understanding. Perhaps with the naive hope that we can all learn something valuable.
First, my usual disclaimer. We live in such binary times. My objective is not to romanticize, idolize, or in any way suggest that life in Scandinavia is perfect and that their culture is "better" than any other. That is simply not true. You can find great aspects in all cultures; you can find happy and unhappy people everywhere (and you also have to be humble about which time periods you are referring to.) All cultures have their ups and downs.
Secondly, while I mention Scandinavian in the title, I am mainly referencing what I know to be Swedish experiences and observations. “Scandinavia” can refer to different groups, depending on who is speaking. It typically encompasses Norway, Denmark, as well as Sweden, or sometimes more broadly includes all of the Nordic Countries, which adds Iceland and Finland to the mix. Islands like Faroe, Åland, and Greenland sometimes are included in both. But let's not get lost in technical labels. I do believe most of these cultural inclinations are true, broadly speaking, for both the Swedish and the greater Scandinavian experience – however it is defined.
The point here is simply that I have tried my best to identify key traits, habits, or norms that I have found valuable to life over there. My hope is that we could learn from them and perhaps prototype some of them in our own lives. I had some fun thinking about these and discussing them with my own family who has lived in and around them all their lives.
So, here you go:
1. Folkbildning (roughly, "formation")
There is a very broad-based commitment across Scandinavia towards educating the population – without strings attached. It is typically free, and also free from influence by any particular institution (religion, state, company, etc.). It starts early (1-year old via a generous child support system) and goes on forever. Any person can apply and go study nearly whatever they want during any period of their lives. And with the insight we now have into the impact of education, it seems that public investments in educating the entire population will yield strong returns in form of higher productivity, lower health care, and lower crime.
But, perhaps the key uniqueness of Scandinavia (which is probably as true for Finland, and also Germany, for instance) is that their idea of "education" is different than in America. Bildning literally means “formation,” which I guess is closer to our word for "building". In many cultures, education has become too transactional and perhaps overly obsessed with test results and output. Students are pushed towards the vague achievement of graduation rather than developing the skills they need to actually "build" a successful, happy, and healthy life. Apprenticeship plays a very important role in the education system in Scandinavia (and Germany), which is a good example of a different style of learning. I also have a sense that the Scandinavian education culture is more evergreen, and their societies offer a richer set of personal and vocational opportunities to continuously learn new skills and crafts.
2. Lagom (roughly “enough but not too much”)
Perhaps this attitude is related to the melancholy seen in Ingmar Bergman films, the dark and grey winters, or the vast expanse of very large geography with few people. I mean, why be loud when no one is listening?
There is also the somewhat more questionable Jantelagen, the very Scandinavian "trait" that suggests that you are not to think you're anyone special, or that you're better than us. While this is not particularly attractive (I think) if taken too far, there is something appealing about modesty, particularly in our overly individualistic world. We are, after all, interdependent and interconnected, and making sure our own behaviors are in harmony with the people around us makes a lot of sense. Doesn't it?
These days, moderation is enticing. Being even-keeled, tempered, considered, and calm are traits in a very "loud" and somewhat crazy cultural moment that could be something to aspire to.
3. Härdad (roughly “hardy”)
This is perhaps my favorite cultural distinction of Scandinavians, one that I find quite identifiable. This translation was tough – I was really looking for the right word. Hardy comes close. Scandinavians love the outdoors to begin with. And their outdoors often shows up in cold, windy, and dark ways. And still, they bike and hike. Everywhere. Very few hires help for just about anything. They redo their homes, cars, lawns, and houses themselves. They swim in cold waters and love it, too. They are generally very resourceful. And they almost never complain. There is a gritty, resilient, and tough Scandinavian DNA that I find very attractive.
There is another word, too, that is related to this quality, Friluftsliv, which explains the kind of lifestyle of the outdoors. Norwegians (yes, all of them!) love to go “på tur,” which loosely means go outside for a “tour.” In Scandinavia, they have outdoor everything, including daycare centers (Ur & Skur). My mother always told me to go outside. “Lite luft gör dig gott,” she said, which means, “some fresh air will do you good.” If you go to Scandinavia somewhere in the summer months, they love to eat outside, even in the rather cold evenings. To most Scandinavians, there is really never any bad weather, there truly is just inappropriate clothing!
4. Ljust och Enkelt (“light and simplicity”)
Scandinavian Design is perhaps what comes to mind for non-Scandinavians when they think about Scandinavia. IKEA has likely done its share of promoting this side. And design is certainly a very tangible way that the values of cultures can manifest.
Light plays a very important role in Scandinavian spaces. In the long winter months, daylight is precious. We have learned to create our environments in a way that lets the sunshine in. But it's beyond rays of light. It's also about making sure you orient yourself towards the light. This ethos is also reflected in the materials themselves. Light materials are common, like wood from pine, birch, and spruce and lighter types of stone like kalksten (a light grey limestone variant commonly used in Scandinavia).
Ordning och reda is also something that Scandinavians value. It refers to being orderly and neat. Some of this is because they generally are a bit less materialistic and simply have fewer things. But there is a quality of simplicity that runs through the Scandinavian fabric. This form of modesty, also found around the concept of lagom, can be recognized in Scandinavian design by the zen-like nature of a decluttered and spatial serenity.
5. Fikapaus (“coffebreak”)
Maybe you have heard of fika. Almost every person in Scandinavia takes coffee breaks (I think only the Swedes call it fika). It’s a good idea for all of us for three reasons. First, it’s a well-known fact that taking a short break, even just a few breaths, and pausing what you are doing is conducive to enhanced productivity. Second, it creates structured water cooler moments. Little facilitated, accidental encounters, as oxymoronic as it sounds. People meet. They connect. They have an opportunity to discuss and talk about things that matter. Finally, fika is typically very democratic. There is no executive or business class fika. Everybody fika. All people from all levels typically gather.
And back to my partner, Tony. When visiting Sweden and Copenhagen a few years back, he was so enamored with fika that he instituted this practice in the Boston Cue Ball office.
Of course, there are other important aspects of life in the Nordics that could be mentioned. Like sauna. Like how respect for our Earth has shaped the relationship to food and environment, or the quality of early music education, and the learning of multiple languages. But I think I will stay with these five for now.
So, there you go. Perhaps to some of you, it helps explain why l left Scandinavia. I am not that lagom, I almost never stop, I never have time for fikapaus, and I certainly can't be considered an outdoorsman!
On a more serious note, I think we all can learn from the Scandinavian example. Particularly in terms of their commitment to education and health. It seems that many countries, right now, lack the belief and conviction that it is possible to build new high-quality institutions that deliver on healthcare, education, public transport, and other essential services the way the Scandinavians have done it. I, for one, having lived in both systems, believe firmly that America would benefit enormously from a radically different approach to overall health and education. Of course, we can do it. If we could put a man on the moon, we certainly can reimagine how we deliver better and lower-cost health care and education. We might have to invest a bit more in the short term, but would reap HUGE rewards in the long term. It's an investment I would make (and for sure am making daily).
Here are a few links that you might find interesting and relevant to this newsletter:
This is a really FUNNY video making fun of some very Swedish traits.
David Brooks wrote THIS about Scandinavian Education and this more recently about investing broadly in these types of commitments in America
This is the Nordic Food Manifesto which beautifully summarizes the Nordic Cuisine (which I also do love)
Great New Yorker article from 2016 about the Danish relationship with Hygge and what things we can learn from it
Have a great week. Try channeling your inner Scandinavian and see how it feels. Next week, I will try to attack the concept of re:gathering. I am sure many of you feel "weird" and somewhat "mixed" about meetings these days. I certainly do. For one, we have lost that muscle after so much time of distancing and work from home. I also think most of us don't miss the traffic, the commuting, the too many airplanes, and time spent going to meetings.
But, I know in my heart that we also miss many qualities that can only be experienced together. So I am thinking about that and how our future might evolve in and around meetings. And it's a timely week to do so as Jessica and her team will host their 9th TEDxChicago Event on Thursday with a live audience appropriately titled TO GATHER TOGETHER.
