The challenges of moving to a new job, in a new country, and how I try to address them

I took the photo above during a recent business trip to Oslo, Norway. In a way, it reflects the opportunities and challenges I am facing over the past 12 months. The scenery is made up of familiar objects (boats, water, giant colored balls), but the context and arrangement in which they appear are strange and even fantastical. Part of the panorama is unclear and covered in fog, yet the colors and the beauty of the horizon are an invitation to cherish this unique moment and to be grateful and full of expectation and excitement.

A bit more than a year ago I moved to a new role within Amazon Web Services - from Training and Certification Manager at AWS Israel, to AWS Nordics Digital Innovation Lead. The new role is very much customer facing, and involves having conversations about innovation with CxOs, executives, customer teams, and running joint engagements to delight their customers utilizing Amazon's innovation approach. I knew there was a lot for me to learn, and I looked forward to it. One of Amazon's Leadership Principles I feel most strongly about is Learn and Be Curious. It reads - "Leaders are never done learning and always seek to improve themselves. They are curious about new possibilities and act to explore them". And I have been learning a great deal of things in this time - both professionally and personally.

In this article I would like to focus on one aspect of this learning - about the Nordic business environment, industries and economy. I want to share the challenges I am facing, and some of the ways I am trying to address them. I hope it resonates with anyone who has been in a similar situation, provides you with some directions and ideas, and hopefully opens up a conversation through which we can all continue to learn.

While I've traveled a fair bit in the past, this is the first time I have relocated for work. The change required me to learn my new role responsibilities, to get to know my co-workers and build relationships in the new AWS office, and to begin to recognize the differences between doing business in the different Scandinavian countries (which I was not aware of before coming here). Thankfully, English is commonplace and the major language of work in both the local AWS office, and with customers (although I am taking Swedish lessons as I want to feel more at home here). Yet I feel that the one of the biggest hurdles for me is the gap I have in knowing the major players and brands in the economy, industry, and commerce. While I was working in my home country I knew, of course, all the names from just growing up there, from going to the supermarket or pharmacy, choosing furniture for our home, getting things sorted in the bank, listening to the economic news, and from years of working with local companies as customers. Here, however, every Swedish or Danish child's household brand was new to me. I knew not the banks or insurance firms, the construction companies, the major retail chains, the company that produces the dairy products I buy, and so on. So how can I begin to understand who is important to prioritize? Who are the major competitors of the customers I am talking to? What are the industry trends I should be aware of? Needless to say, my AWS colleagues always do their best to help, provide background information, do briefing calls...but still it is not enough.

I realized early on this is a gap I had to address. So here are some of things I have tried to do so far, and things I am still working on. I'd love to hear your feedback on those, and get more ideas on what I - and people in similar situations - might do:

1. Being endlessly curious and not shying away from asking for help - whenever I come across a company or brand name which is new to me I either try to research that immediately if I have the time, or make a note to get back to it later in a designated learning time. Note the names may come up not just in work context - it's can be when I am walking the street for lunch or shopping, when I see advertisements in the local metro, when I travel to one of the other Nordic countries, and so on. The obvious beginnings are the company's website (it helps if there is an English version - but even if there isn't I look at the products and leadership pages), and a basic web search. Then there are several internal documentation sources and websites at AWS I can use to learn about the people in the company, the lines of business and structure, and a bit of their history. Then there are my peers - Sales Leaders, Account Managers, Industry Specialists, Training Business Development Managers, Solution Architects and others. They hold a wealth of information and are happy to share - but sometimes I have to reach out and ask as they may not be aware I can use their knowledge. Some of the information I can get additional information from the conversations with the customers themselves - although that requires earning their trust of course, and asking smart question according to the context and type of conversation.
2. Connecting with local networks and communities - as I moved here at times of COVID-19, the networking scene is undoubtedly different than in "normal" times. There are few face-to-face events and conferences - which would have been a great opportunity to mingle and get an understanding of the business ecosystems. However, there were a number of opportunities I was happy to jump on to connect with local networks. In one, I was invited to run innovation workshops with the 360.dk network of CxOs in Denmark, which was a great way to learn about various sectors and companies and establish relationships with business leaders. A second network I connected with is Innovationsledarna (= The Innovation Leaders) from Sweden through which is obviously close to my role's focus and goals. I am certain there are more communities I can derive value from and contribute to - if you are a member or aware of any please let me know or invite me.
3. Leveraging tools and information sources - LinkedIn Sales Navigator and LinkedIn groups are powerful tools. I haven't leveraged the full potential of these - I am sure - but it has helped me find out more about companies, what they do, their business status, initiatives, people in them, and things they care about. I am now searching for more relevant groups in the region I can join and learn from. I've also read several market research papers - mostly sector specific (e.g. FSI, Manufacturing, Telco) - which are a good way to dive deeper into the particularities of the markets. I have also looked in Facebook but it seems that groups there are more about personal interests and help for expats, as well as getting settled in Sweden, rather than on business information. Again - if you can recommend more groups and information sources - I'd appreciate if you can share.
4. Learning from media and entertainment and exploring the language and culture - it is true that the Nordic countries are quite international, and that you can get by pretty well with English alone. Still, as in every other place culture and heritage have an influence on the more intricate aspects of how things are being done. That is why I am deliberately working on getting exposure and a better understanding of those as well. It does require effort, but it also has the added benefit of making things much more interesting and nuanced. Luckily there are many channels to do so. To begin with, I am attending the government endorsed Swedish for Immigrants (SFI) lessons. This cover not only grammar but also some history, traditions, society, etc - and lets me start to get exposure to local news and information. Other examples include watching TV series made in the Nordic. For example, before I had my first trip to Copenhagen here, I watched the entire series of Borgen - which gave me a glimpse of the country's politics, and the way people talk and behave. Other shows I looked at were The Bridge, Rita, and K?rlek och Anarki (Love and Anarchy). In addition - there are a multitude of museums and excursions that allow me to get to know the history, and are anyway fun to visit by yourself or with your family (Stockholm city museum, Skansen, The Vikings Museum, Birka and many more).
5. Taking (and lecturing at) courses and academic learning - a country's approach to its education and academia is a crucial part of the society and conversation. While I am still some time away from being able to listen to lectures in the local language, luckily there is a good number of course available in English. One of the topics I was less familiar with before coming here, and which is growing to be an integral part of conversations I am having with customers and peers, is the topic of Sustainability. I have therefore set myself a goal to build my understanding and skills in this field. Online, I have found the course on Planetary Boundaries - led by a Swedish research institute - to be a great starting point. I have also signed up for some standalone MA and BA courses in local universities, due to start in the Spring 22 semester. Through AWS's Public Sector team, I have been introduced to academic researchers and lecturers. Building on the common interest in innovation, I've been invited to be a guest lecturer in a couple of opportunities, This is another great way to build local relationships, have conversations with people about current affairs and learn from them.

As you can probably see, this is and will continue to be an ongoing journey. I would love to get more ideas on how you are building your ability to interact with and integrate in the local business and social communities and networks. And if you're in the Nordic area - please reach out and share some learnings and insights. Let us clear the fog from the horizon, and treasure the beauty of all this diversity and colors. In the end, maybe I will transform into a fearsome Viking...

Tusen tack!

Amir