In this episode, the Danish-language podcast Den Nye Standard welcomes Brian Mikkelsen, former minister and now CEO of Dansk Erhverv. Brian was invited into the studio for a conversation about leadership, the move from politics to Dansk Erhverv and the conditions for entrepreneurship in Denmark.
Brian opens the interview by describing himself as curious, energetic, cheerful and full of initiative, a man who cares about involving his employees in every part of the organisation. When Brian became CEO of Dansk Erhverv, he says he took over a well-run, successful organisation. Since then, his focus has been on raising the quality and visibility of Dansk Erhverv. Brian wants to be a good leader and make sure it’s fun and pleasant to come to work. He has also brought tools with him from politics that he uses in leading Dansk Erhverv.
From politician Brian to business Brian
Brian talks about going from 25 years in politics to the job of CEO at Dansk Erhverv. He has always been interested in politics and wrote his first letter to the editor when he was 12. So the choice to swap Christiansborg and the government for Børsen and Dansk Erhverv was a hard one, and at first Brian didn’t think he was ready. But curiosity made him want to try something new, and he said yes to the job. The move hasn’t been without its challenges either. Brian had to get used to a calmer pace, with the focus on strategy and planning. As a politician and minister, he was used to being on all the time and having an opinion on everything. Another new experience is his relationship with journalists. As a business leader, he finds that journalists are interested in what he says and see him as an expert. That wasn’t something he was used to as a politician.
A real leader
Brian’s most important goal today is to be a constructive leader who respects professional expertise. That’s why he takes input from both the youngest and the oldest employees at Dansk Erhverv. He has never read a book on leadership, but relies on his intuition and thinks he’s good at reading people. It matters to Brian to be a real leader, not just a leader on paper. He believes a real leader has to create security, stability and clarity for employees, and that is high on Brian’s agenda at Dansk Erhverv. That’s why he holds one-to-one meetings with every new employee.
“Entrepreneurs are freedom fighters who don’t just want to be wage slaves”
According to Brian, Denmark has two big problems when it comes to entrepreneurship: the culture and capital taxation. Brian suggests putting entrepreneurship on the timetable in Danish state schools. He also believes lower capital taxation would increase investment and so encourage entrepreneurship in Denmark. An important part of Dansk Erhverv’s agenda is supporting entrepreneurship in Danish business. Among other things, they are focusing on increasing the number of women entrepreneurs, since according to Brian only one in eight women becomes an entrepreneur. All entrepreneurs can also become members of Dansk Erhverv for free. Dansk Erhverv has also put forward a number of proposals to the government ahead of its upcoming entrepreneurship policy.