When capacity increases, judgement becomes even more important

That is perhaps my clearest reflection after day 2 at the Oslo Business Forum 2026.

Ståle Solbakken gave a simple but powerful picture of team performance. The best players also have a responsibility to make those around them better. If the star makes the new player insecure, he will not get the good pass he himself depends on either.

That applies far beyond football.

Strong performance environments are not just about assembling the best individuals. They are about creating safety, clarity and accountability that enable more people to perform at their best.

And when pressure and complexity increase, leadership sometimes has to do the opposite of what we instinctively do: simplify. Solbakken's example from the pitch was refreshingly concrete. When everything becomes complicated, go back to the most fundamental.

The same thought struck me in the AI track.

Technology increases our capacity to analyse, produce and act. But more capacity is not the same as better decisions. Judgement, curiosity, prioritisation and the organisation's ability to change ways of working become more important.

Steven Van Belleghem at the same time shifted attention towards the customer. Some of what creates the strongest loyalty is precisely what is hardest to measure: the small action that shows someone has actually seen you.

Oslo Business Forum is itself a good example of this through the details in the participant experience.

Shawn Kanungo at the same time challenged us not only to use new technology to make what we already do more efficient, but also to ask whether we should build something different.

And Seth Godin reminded us of something at least equally fundamental. It is easy to spend energy on the system, the market, technology and everything we do not control. More useful is to ask what we ourselves can influence.

That is perhaps the most important value I take away from these two days.

Not just new models and ideas, but challenges to how I think, learn and work. More ideas should be tested. Some assumptions should be challenged. And some things should be done differently.

Because learning has little value if it stays at the conference and disappears when everyday life starts again.

When I look back on OBF 2026, one thought therefore remains:

The more technology we get, the more leadership matters.

Leadership of people, priorities, culture, change and of ourselves.

That is why the transition from The Human Edge to Clarity, the theme for OBF 2027, also feels quite logical.

When opportunities, information and noise increase, the ability to see clearly and choose correctly becomes even more important.

I am already looking forward to next year. With Oprah Winfrey announced on stage, the bar is certainly not set low. 🤩

oslobusinessforum.com