Andreas Andersen, President and CEO of Liseberg, will deliver an EDUSession on the challenges of leading during these rapidly changing times as a part of the first day of IAAPA Virtual Conference: EMEA and APAC. A longtime industry leader, Andersen oversees Scandinavia's largest amusement park in Gothenburg, Sweden. Drawing on his experiences, he'll discuss the importance of flexible strategy and agility in times like these. Read on or watch the video above for a preview of his session on Tuesday, September 22.
Why do you think this topic is so important in the current situation?
Andreas Andersen: I think 2020 has proven that this specific topic is very relevant to all of us. We live in a world that spins faster and faster. Change is happening at an increasingly rapid pace and that does have to be reflected in the way we manage our organizations, but it also has to be reflected in the way we manage our businesses. It’s quite relevant in 2020, which hasn’t been anything we’ve dreamt about.
Do you have the feeling that our facilities responded adequately? Did they respond fast enough or do you think we should all take a moment and pause and make an informed decision later?
I think it’s a little bit of both. On one hand, with this rapidly changing operational environment we have to be very agile as an organization and as leaders. But on the other hand, I feel that we are moving from a reality where we had to face a lot of complicated issues—we will, in the future, have to face a lot of complex issues. And that’s a huge difference. Handling complexity does put a spotlight on our abilities to think strategically and being strategic also takes time. So, it’s a little bit of both.
It’s not the first time that you’re leading an organization through change. What kind of answers or suggestions or questions might people expect from your presentation at IAAPA Virtual Conference: EMEA and APAC?
I’m not going to give it all away—you’ll have to be at the conference! But I think the real answer is that we’re in this new reality together. We’re all facing the same issues. Whether you are managing a small team or you’re managing a large organization, we’re all in the same boat. I think there are some universal truths that you have to keep in mind when you manage a team through change. It’s this baseline I’d like to address. What do we need to do when we are in the situation we’re in. But, I also hope that I can tell some good stories or anecdotes because when you’ve been in this industry for as many years as I have you certainly also make some mistakes and it’s very often those mistakes that you learn from. So I think some good stories, but also a baseline of the tools I think you need to apply when you manage in change.
