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Working with Norwegians
by
This book is the beautiful story of a successful American venture capitalist who met the Norwegian business culture and learnt a great deal. Sean had an intense and very public business failure in Norway; then he fell in love with the country. The Loud American presents his reflections and learnings, giving unique insights into the way Norwegians and Scandinavians do busin
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Hardcover, 1st Edition, 149 pages
Published
2018
by Independant
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I would categorize this book as an anthropological ethnography that applies the Silicon Valley mentality to Norway. To sum it up, Silicon Valley has a mentality "If you have the capability, we will provide the capacity no matter where you are from as long as the idea is viable". As Ice T and his band Body Count sing about in the same song title "(In Norway), Shit Ain't Like That, Its real fucked up".
Its a valuable book on the shelf as there are limited publications for the outsider to understan ...more
Its a valuable book on the shelf as there are limited publications for the outsider to understan ...more

Feb 05, 2018
Gedi Siuskus
added it
This a book for those that came to Norway for work. In case of the author Sean, a laud American, there could not be a bigger contrast to land in Norway with their anti-bravado culture and Janteloven.
In a nutshell:
Pros:
- great summary of core Norwegian stereotypes & traditions
- book drawings suits the atmosphere & the writing style
- focus on Norwegian business traditions by American VC
- quick read - it should take you few hours
Cons:
- author just cracks the first layer of Norwegian culture not tr ...more
In a nutshell:
Pros:
- great summary of core Norwegian stereotypes & traditions
- book drawings suits the atmosphere & the writing style
- focus on Norwegian business traditions by American VC
- quick read - it should take you few hours
Cons:
- author just cracks the first layer of Norwegian culture not tr ...more

First, let me say that I’ve found the writing style and the pace excellent, which makes it very easy to read. While you can get a great summary of the Norwegian values & traditions from it, some parts of the book are definitely relevant only if your job involves making business deals with Norwegians (sales person, investor, etc.). Definitely worth reading if you just arrived in Norway, a bit less otherwise.

Fun book. Not amazing, but enjoyable, especially after being mildly annoyed by Norwegian-isms for awhile. Had the experience, "you're not anything like me, despite your regular reference to embodying some extraverted American (nay, Californian) archetype; your writing is okay, but nothing to gush about, and your experiences are pretty isolated from mine, but I feel camaraderie in the resultant set of emotions" kind of way.
The animal illustrations were fun. ...more
The animal illustrations were fun. ...more

This book was not very informative about Norwegian workplace culture. Not everything in the book rings true, e.g. that the value creation takes place in Oslo and the rest of the country more or less exists on subsidies from the state. It seems that they energy and fish industries are completely forgotten by the author who obviously has not spent much time outside of Oslo.

If you can get over the occasionally questionable use of the English language, this book does offer a valuable insight into the cultural differences one might face when moving to Norway. Of course, not all of it is relevant to all sectors, but nevertheless it provides an insight into how people think and what values they hold. I would recommend it to anyone moving to or working in Norway.

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Yes it's true, Norwegians are a strange bunch. This book told an accurate view.
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If you're looking to better understand Norwegian work life this is the book.
...more

Sep 13, 2019
Satish Kumar
marked it as to-read
Even tho I've lived in Norway for years, this book was still a great help.
...more

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Yes it's true, Norwegians are a strange bunch. This book told an accurate view.
...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
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Sean is an American entrepreneur, investor and author originally from California. He has invested in over 120 startups and founded several of his own. Through his work in acclaimed accelerator programs like 500 Startups and the Katapult Accelerator, Sean has helped to mentor 1000s of startups on growth marketing and fundraising.
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