Preface. Acknowledgements. Chapter One – Concept development as leverage. Chapter Two – Different strategies where the needs exist. Chapter Three – Connecting the underlying tools to the themes. Chapter Four – The link between business model and innovation. Chapter Five – A deepening of the framework. Chapter Six – SETAI (Strategy, Evolution, Tools, Artificial, Innovation). Chapter Seven – SOAP (Structure, Own, Alternative, Physical). Chapter Eight – Reflections on the present, the future, and the needs of the soul. Summary. Appendix.
Biography
Staffan Hedén has a long successful career as a business leader, consultant, and academic. For the past 30 years, he has been fully focusing on understanding and developing expert knowledge that contributes to healthy and profitable growth in medium and large companies, especially companies operating in several international markets. The knowledge that has been developed focuses on clarifying which strategies are required, understanding bottlenecks, using resources better, and being able to visualize unique abilities. At the core, it is about understanding how individuals best create performance and how different groups value loyalty. Dr. Hedén has worked with over 150 international groups of companies (in whole, in part, or as a mentor), conducted more than 3,000 interviews focusing on business model innovation, and created over 1,500 seminars in the field.
This book raises awareness of big societal changes as things we business owners need to have a response to in an ever-changing world if we want to stay relevant. If we want to get to the soul of a company our own souls need to be engaged. I loved the question “what can we create with strategies and systems when we humans change slowly?”. The book has given me genuine and profound food for thought as I navigate through the next phase of our family business. I urge anyone who is ready to take a look at whether their business is fit for the future to read Staffan’s book. It’ll help put your business into a wider context and help you challenge your own thinking.
- Elizabeth Bagger, Managing Director, AVS Danmark ApS
Dr. Staffan Hedén provides a visionary toolkit for the digital age, anchoring high-speed innovation in ‘The Company Soul’. It is a masterful exploration of how businesses can use technology to satisfy real needs while maintaining the invisible, human identity that no algorithm can ever replicate.
- Timothy Hughes, Co-Founder and CEO DLA Ignite
One of the book’s strongest contributions is its central premise: that organizations possess a “soul” which functions as a connective conduit between leadership, employees, customers, and strategy. This framing provides a compelling alternative to purely mechanistic or financially driven models of innovation and gives language to dynamics that many leaders intuitively recognize but struggle to articulate.
- Brent Peterson, Vendor Management Specialist Fortis Inc.
Many times in business, and in life, finding new perspectives is what you need and look for. This book, the Company Soul, helps exactly with that. Combining real life examples with a well-tested approach that helps you to find a new perspective to innovation in a structured and methodical way. It is a thought-provoking read that will give you great insights and I'm sure you will enjoy the book!
- Arash Afsarian, Vice President, Head of Enterprise Transformation and Enterprise D&A/AI, Campgemini Invent
I found the concept and ideas deeply interesting and forward-thinking. There is a clear willingness to step back, look from the top of the mountain, and engage with AI, business, and leadership from a broader, human, long-term perspective. The systems thinking and ambition of the work are strengths, and the intellectual depth is evident throughout.
- Jenny Landgren, CEO NARA Communications
