Page 18 - CSA Speaker Bulletin October 2019

Page 18 - CSA Speaker Bulletin October 2019 | CSA Celebrity Speakers

P. 18

CSA SPEAKER BULLETIN LEGACY

Legacy and Liability

Andreas Ekström

Iwas born and raised thinking about a solid intellectual idea. But I also
legacy. Most of us are. We don’t believe that the limits we set – for
intend to, but we become versions ourselves, for others – are stifling.
of our parents. We choose equivalent For the young business leader I
jobs, we pick similar spouses, we mentioned, legacy is likely to be
tend to often remain in the same holding him back. I can only imagine
geographical area.What is all this, if how sick and tired he must be of
not entertaining the idea of a legacy? old school ideas of what the family
The strength of history, of roots to your business ”should” be – when all he
tree? wants to do is to reinvent.

I am the first reporter in my family – And I suspect these same mechanisms Andreas Ekström is a
but as a keynote speaker, I am more may apply on an individual level as futurist and commentator
than anything a teacher. Just like mom well. on digital revolution. His
and dad, and many other people in passion is to educate for
my extended family past and present. Letting other people do what they digital equality and he aims
And I like that. I like the sense of want to do and be who they want to to understand the companies
belonging to an idea, a context, a sort be is a good start for any enlightened and behaviours that have
of saga: This is who we are, and this is human being. become drivers of change at
what we do. Of course, these thoughts all levels of society. He talks
limit us tremendously, too. But how about yourself? Are you here about legacy and what it
letting yourself do what you want to means for each individual.
I came to think of that as I heard a do? Be who you want to be?
quote from a young Swedish business
tycoon – a guy who is going to be
running a big family business, after
fathers and mothers before him
have done the same for more than a
century. His magical words? Legacy
is a liability. I immediately loved and
hated that.

I believe in a sense of purpose that
can be drawn from a long history or

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20