When the stage lights go out, what actually remains?

A day has passed since Oslo Business Forum 2026. Two intense days have had time to settle.

What stays with me most strongly is this:

Technology lets us do more. The challenge becomes understanding what is actually worth doing.

Ståle Solbakken perhaps gave the image that hit me hardest. He described how a look from an established star can make a new player insecure. But then the star loses too. A nervous teammate may not play the pass you yourself depend on.

The best depend on others succeeding. That is why the best also have a greater responsibility to make others good.

Patty McCord's «Context, not control» and Gary Hamel's shift from «human beings are resources» to «human beings are resourceful» touched on something similar.

People need direction and clear expectations, but also trust, room to act and accountability.

When pressure increases, we may need less complexity, not more. Solbakken's message was reduced to:

«Play to the man in the red shirt»

What is the one thing we must succeed with right now?

That question does not become less important with AI. 57% answered that AI makes them move faster, without decisions necessarily getting better.

Snorre Kjesbu summarised part of the antidote in three words:

«Judgment. Curiosity. Focus.»

More capacity makes prioritisation more important.

Steven Bartlett highlighted an example I have witnessed in many variants: A decision that could have been tested quickly was discussed for nine months. The cost was nine months without learning.

I am trying to get better at testing earlier, learning faster and challenging my own assumptions before they become truths.

Steven Van Belleghem at the same time reminded us that strong customer value is not always created by what is easiest to measure. In a world where AI makes convenience and personalisation easier, relationship, care and perceived value become even more important.

«Is what we can measure most easily also what creates the most value?»

That applies not only to customers. Employees and partners also remember how we made them feel.

Seth Godin's «We're not sitting in traffic. We are traffic.» therefore also stayed with me.

It is easy to point to the market, technology, the organisation or others. But I am also part of the system I want to influence.

Perhaps the most important thing I take away from The Human Edge is not one model or one quote, but the reminder that development still begins with people who dare to learn, challenge, choose and act.

Then OBF 2027 – Clarity feels like a natural continuation. When opportunities multiply, the ability to understand what deserves our attention becomes even more important.

See also the reflections from day 1 and day 2 at OBF 2026.

oslobusinessforum.com