Well lookee here: Heat, but no light.

Forbes.com: Nokia CEO voices concern about U.S. mores

HELSINKI, Finland (AP) - The head of Nokia - the world's largest mobile phone maker - expressed concern Sunday about disintegrating values in society and an apparent resurgence in conservative attitudes in the United States.

Nokia's chief executive, Jorma Ollila, said in a rare television interview that the world is living in "an era of selfishness" very different from his childhood days in a small town in central Finland, when family values were of prime importance.

"Put in a nicer way, it is an era of individualism. This is a very self-centered period, which also has plenty of good features too because, when understood correctly, it can help you live independently and stand on one's own two feet," Ollila, 54, said in a candid interview broadcast on state-run YLE television.

Speaking with Finnish philosopher Esa Saarinen, a personal friend, Ollila said he thinks people are more concerned about individual rights than taking responsibility for their actions and trying to have a positive influence on society.

"What I'm worried about is that if this disintegration of values continues and develops further, we'll get a conservative counter-reaction precisely like what has actually happened in the USA," he said.

Let's hope Saarinen took him aside after tthe interview and explained things like Segmentation, niche and micromarketing. Maybe while he was at it, perhaps things like the spin-off of "underperforming" divisions to offshore markets. Finally, maybe he asked Ollila what he thought about the fact that guys like he and Branson, Welch and Trump are superstars, yet we see very few scout leaders or teachers on the cover of Forbes or Fortue when it comes time to talk about "Success" or Leadership.

That is the thing that stings. Business leaders insist on claiming fealty to the idea of values, family values and the social fabric. Then decouple their actions from execution on the central principles of these beliefs. Corporate Mission is a mantra. But if you menton Corporate Conscience or consequence to them, they'll tilt their head sideways as though someone just suggested washing a car with a fish.

Jorma Ollila makes cell phones and digital devices. Those devices allow––make easy, promote––the ability of families and communities to be farther and farher apart from each other. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, but distance creates, well, it creates distance. I can't sense you or feel you. We are together, yet apart. That has consequences. Technology always does. An example:

Ever thought much about the fireplace and chimney? Nice and cozy aren't they. Hearth and Home and what-not. Guess what. You can credit the fireplace for many things besides heat and cooking.

A Design: The Fireplace + Chimney

A medieval development based on utility: How do we stop burning down structures when we heat and cook in dwellings?

[R]evolutionary result: Before, servant and master gathered, ate and slept around a communal fire in a Great Room, vented through a big hole in the ceiling. Brrrr. Grrrr.

Now, spaces could be subdivided, with their own heat sources. Second floors could be added, bringing stairs into the home. Heat rises. So did the owner. He moved upstairs and "physical" class division begins. The new privacy and comfort afforded the privileged allows for more frequent bathing and personal care--quiet time--which in turn heralds the idea and practice of "romantic" love.

Oversimplified, yes, but that's the nub of it.

Imagine other consequences of heat on demand. You can add in the fact that inkpots didn't freeze in the winters anymore, nor did water clocks. So business and order could be maintained year round, round the clock. Yippee!

Now update the model: What are the converse effects of a thing like a fax or a cell phone or email? Who knows, maybe one symptom of the disconnect are blogs. Perhaps they're the new digital hearth? Your call.

Either way, let's hope that Saarinen grabbed Jorma Ollila by the ear and dragged him into the next room––then told him how silly, how decoupled from reality he is; how his business may, just may, in some ways enable and exalt that which he laments. Shared values need practice and proximity, and consistent application across all strata. Otherwise, they're just brochure copy and only serve to highlight the disconnect between people and practice.

How needs why, as mentioned in the previous post. Jorma seems to have forgotten it's not a principle unless it costs you somethng, even it's just the pain of self-awareness. Jorma seems not to know his "Why?".

---

{A nod to growing up with National Geographic and James Burke on the BBC for some of the above.]