Be curious, be committed, be generous.

Speech given at the graduation ceremony of the International University of Geneva on 6 June 2019. 

I am very pleased and honoured to be with you today, addressing you as graduates of one of the leading business schools in Switzerland.

What an achievement and what promising potential for the organisations and institutions that are going to be welcoming you as you embark on your career. And not only for them, of course. What a great potential about to be expressed for economy and society at large whether you go and join a start-up, engage in a new entrepreneurial endeavour or in a social enterprise.

You should all be proud of what you have achieved so far. I do know graduating doesn’t come without much work and effort. Sometimes it takes some sleepless nights and temporary failures and frustrations; it requires loads of stamina and resilience. But I also know the journey to graduation is full of laughter and friends and fun, and most probably this is mostly what you will be remembering. So let me express all my appreciation to you all and to your families as well, they have always supported you and provided you with the values that will guide you through your life.

So what now? Now you are about to start the next phase in your life and – frankly speaking – I am not here to give you advice or tips on how to become a good manager or a successful leader. I believe the best I could give you is three questions and it is sharing three personal learning and talk to you as persons.

The first question that you should ask yourself - and go back to - when you need to make a crucial choice: Who are you? And this leads to your values, what you stand for, and what are your consequent behaviours. 

It will take time and some struggle to go deep into yourself and answer this question, but remember it will be influencing your entire life, and it will help you enormously. 

Being grounded and staying true to yourself, and your values will make you feel good, will provide you with a sense of relief when facing difficulties, it will make you credible to others.

So believe in yourself and act accordingly, with the humbleness of those who know that one needs to work, study and practice to leverage on own strengths; also act with the willpower of those who look for the signals and the chances that come from circumstances.  As the Latin philosopher Lucius Anneus Seneca said:

“Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity”. 

Second question: How will you use your skills, knowledge and capabilities?

Nowadays, we are going through a massive transformation in society. Everywhere we look, we see that the world is being transformed at high speed by digitalisation, artificial intelligence, outsourcing, the gig economy, start-ups, “unicorns” - all these phenomena have now become the norm, along with all the explosive changes they bring in their wake. And there is nothing we can do to stop them. But why should we? Instead, we urgently need to equip ourselves to embrace these winds of change, as well as all the opportunities they can bring. Today many organisations are struggling to reinvent themselves to survive in a rapidly changing environment; you can use your knowledge and skills to help to find an excellent way to partner with technology.

Moreover, global warming will be profoundly influencing all our lives, and the way we will act upon it will make the difference between extinction and life. You can use your knowledge and skills to help to find an excellent way to save the planet. Many more examples could follow; just find your own answer.

Third question: What will be your legacy in this world?

Be it big or small we all can leave something memorable, something that stays. This will be much influenced by how you related to others, how you helped them, and what you shared. 

So our legacy will be what others will remember. The personal relationships we have engaged, the cause we have fought for, and the planet we left to our children and our children’s children. The poetry and the beauty we left behind us. Some will leave prosperous enterprises, some others will create fantastic art masterpieces, some will maybe leave a small lovely garden to witness that gentleness, patience and care are important, and some will leave a beautiful, masterly built piece of furniture to remind that application, perseverance and ability matter. 

Be it big or small, we should all leave something, and this something will be defined by its meaning. While the worst would be leaving nothing. Or, as Hannah Arendt beautifully said:

“The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.” 

So the three questions for you to answer are:

?  Who are you?

?  How will you use your skills, knowledge and capabilities?

?  What will be your legacy in this world?

When it comes to the major learning in my life that I would like to share, here is what my experience taught me:

Be curious

I have always loved exploring, testing, discovering. Be it a new country or region, a book, a phenomenon, and, most importantly, a person, I found out that when I asked questions and listened to the answers, that opened up for me so many fascinating opportunities.  

Curiosity has helped me find new ways to solve problems, it even helped me get the courage to do something that I never did before and do things out of my comfort zone. As when I had to chair the U. N. High-Level Panel for women’s economic empowerment. If I weren’t that curious to know how those organisations work from within, or how decision makers as the director of IMF or a minister, or chief of state work and take their decisions I would have never started that endeavour.

In this fast-paced transforming world, curiosity led me to embrace diversity and fight inequality. Being curious is helping me – and will help you - navigate in the unknown, in this digitally connected world of work that requires a new kind of working culture. This must necessarily include a commitment to inclusion and equality. 

If we don’t succeed in using opposites as an opportunity but see them as a danger, we give away the entire creative potential that goes along with it. Think of differences as forms of talents and learn to value a cognitively diverse workforce of solution-finders as your key to success. What will emerge from this is a whole new culture in which different people will work effectively alongside each other.

If you are truly curious, you will end up in putting people first.

Place people at the heart of anything you do. You will soon realise that for many, this may appear to be a contradiction in terms in the age of automation, digitalisation and artificial intelligence. The true change-maker of the future, however, will maximise the human potential while leveraging the technical capabilities deriving from machines. Not the other way around.

Remind yourself and the people around you to selectively forget the past. Yesterday’s behaviours and beliefs will not give us the answer for the future. The world needs people like you who embrace new thinking with curious, open hearts and minds.

Curiosity is the mother of progress and innovation. 

Curiosity is the friend of inclusion. 

Curiosity is the engine of change.

Curiosity triggers the imagination. 

And since we are in Geneva, I cannot neglect a great “Genevois”, Jean-Jacques Rousseau who said:

“The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.” 

Be committed

When you have your purpose, you go for it with passion, resilience and perseverance. You do not let go of your purpose; you stand for it, do what needs to be done, start and finish what you need to do.

As some of you know, I have spent a large part of my career, strengthening the role of women in organisations. Not because I have perceived women as weaker, on the contrary, but because organisations have long remained indebted to the esteem to which women rightly have a right.  

We all know that the bigger the imbalance and inequality in society, the less sustainable the situation is. And yet, even though women are half of the world population, over one-third of them live in conditions of violence, oppression and injustice. And while over half of the global workforce is made up of women, only 2% of them are in leadership positions, and even they are often paid less than their male colleagues. This is, in fact, one of the most significant inequalities as it affects half of the people in the world, and it wastes so much human potential. This situation is not right and not sustainable.

Much has changed for the better since the beginning of my career. Today more women in politics and business are given responsibility and who make an important contribution to their organisations and our communities at large.

However, just 3 weeks ago, on the occasion of the Swiss women’s strike, we had to undeniably acknowledge that we still have a long way to go to achieve full equality between men and women in our society. 

Like many of the pressing issues, addressing gender inequality starts with a close look in our own back yard. At IKEA, we discovered many biases ten years ago that turned out to be more like a collective “mindset”. 

I am happy to share that in Switzerland, after years of consistent work, our Management team is 50/50 and that we have a healthy pipeline of both male and female talents that support succession and that men and women receive equal pay for comparable jobs. 

This shows first and foremost that when you work on change consistently – with brain and heart – it will change for good eventually. 

Another commitment I have personally taken is to contribute to a positive transformation of the world of work where people will thrive, will have a better quality of work and a better life.

Be generous

I am so grateful to so many people in my life that generously shared their knowledge and experience with me, that devoted to me some of their time and energy that cared about me. Generosity is a free act; it comes spontaneously and requires no restitution. It gives a lot to others. But you know what? Being generous brings you so much joy, and good relationships and – I can say with a twinkle in the eye – it often brings excellent business opportunities.

Be aware, though, you also need to take care of yourself to be able to take care of others.

In today’s world, distraction dominates balance. Influential leaders, therefore, know the value of creating their own distraction-free zones that allow them to reflect and connect with their values and principles. Smart leaders find and protect their mental, emotional, spiritual and physical balance. It is their place of strength through which they empower others. 

Generously devote your time, energy and attention to fostering personal relationships with the people around you. Connecting with your peers, colleagues and managers will help you understand their fears, hopes and desires. Ultimately, you develop a sense of what is essential to people in their lives.

Maya Angelou, the famous American poet and writer, once said:

“As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.” 

May you always be able to help yourself and others improve the world. I am excited for you and for the world to see the impact you will create. I encourage you all to have a noble purpose in all things and in everything you do - to the good of the many. 

Be curious, be committed, be generous and help make this world a better and more beautiful place.

Thank you.