A journey into the NAB 2020–2021 experience

The NextGen Advisory board is a team of seven diverse top talents from across the world that drive change from idea to implementation to move the needle in business-critical areas. If you’ve ever experienced working on a project with colleagues of different backgrounds and experiences coming together as ONE team, then you might have an idea of what the NAB is like. However, in this instance the work takes place over a full year and involves various assignments and direct engagement with the executive team and senior stakeholders in the company.  

This year, the NAB had the unique opportunity to contribute to the work of defining Ericsson’s new Purpose, Vision, and Values as our first project together. You might say we “co(RONA)llaborated” in the unprecedented pandemic environment with multiple stakeholders from all over the world in different time zones and I dare say we got firsthand experience in ‘creating connections that make the unimaginable possible’.

Making the unimaginable possible  

A company’s purpose defines why it exists, its vision describes the future it aims to create, and its values clarify what it stands for—its core beliefs that drive behavior. We were tasked not only with helping define Ericsson’s new Purpose, Vision & Values, but also creating a culture that resonates with the next generation of talent and leadership, and Ericsson’s 100,000 employees. Anum, Cristina, Issa, Staffan, Tiantian, Xingqin and I, felt privileged to have the opportunity to bring our unique ideas and perspectives toward shaping Ericsson’s future.   

We carried out research, arranged workshops, collected data, and provided updates directly to the executive team’s working groups. With every workshop and meeting we received more feedback and recommendations, each different from the last—providing valuable perspectives and direction that helped us connect the dots and sharpen our proposals.  

From learning how to structure our presentations, to ensuring precision and conciseness, we learned that it is not only what you say, but how you say it that’s important in getting your message across. What’s more is that we also got to be part of the initial launch of the new Purpose, Vision, and Values, while attending the Ericsson Global Leadership Summit, which was—to borrow the words from Peter, our project coordinator in his lovely British accent—simply “marvelous”! 

Looking back, we now see a close connection between our Purpose, Vision & Values assignment and the stages of the NAB selection process. Each stage presented a unique task that built on the one before it and evaluated our cognitive, idea-generation, problem-solving, communication, and presentation skills, all of which we got to display and hone while working on this assignment.  

Digitalizing the future  

While the first project was focused on ideation, the second was all about execution, as we worked on implementing new ways of working with the Ericsson Digital Transformation Office (DTO). The DTO works toward building and scaling digital capabilities utilizing data, technology, and agile ways of working to accelerate the execution of the company’s strategy. To achieve this, the DTO office set up dedicated cross-functional teams called lighthouses. NAB’s focus was to work with the lighthouses on improvements to processes and rules, and the objective was to secure continuous process adherence with ways of working, making us proactively prepared for internal and external audits, and ensuring we adhere to the principles of our ISO certifications. Here we had to learn a completely new skill set, and we got to understand what it actually takes to successfully implement digital transformation. 

Building a Speak-Up team 

Through our NAB journey we have had the opportunity to sharpen our existing skills, learn new ones and take virtual collaboration to the next level. One of the areas we strengthened together is Speak-Up, in line with the five Focus areas of Ericsson on The Move (Ericsson’s cultural transformation journey). In the NAB, everyone’s contribution is valued, and we make sure everyone’s voice is heard. It’s often amazing to see our seven diverse perspectives come together to achieve an incredible end-result. We also felt listened to and encouraged by management when making proposals and suggestions, and giving feedback, while the depth and breadth of information we’ve been exposed to has strengthened our understanding of the inner workings of Ericsson.  

As the NAB program gradually comes to an end, we are finalizing our penultimate project, which I will leave for another blog post (stay tuned!). Looking back at how the seven of us came together as one team I believe the positive energy and high motivation of the team members, our interest in and enthusiasm for each other's ideas, our openness to voice our perspectives and use all the great online tools (MS Teams, One Note, and so on) efficiently, are what contributed to our successful virtual collaboration during the NAB program. Even if the program is slowly coming to a close, we are still optimistic about meeting each other face-to-face when it’s possible. 

I think I can speak for all team members when I say that the NAB experience has exceeded my expectations and is an experience that I will cherish for a long time. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to collaborate with such a fantastic team and to make a greater impact for Ericsson. It’s an opportunity I wish everyone would seize!

Learn more about the NAB experience by reading our previous blog post on the topic.