How to build Sisu

Building resilience

We see that, in terms of resilience, the Finns have the right attitude and perspective to see what really matters in the world. Call them pessimists or call them realists, they approach life knowing that it can suck. But they also know that not giving up, not playing the victim or getting overemotional about things is how you increase your chances of succeeding in the game of life. They accept that they come from a small nation that most people around the world have never heard of, just as they know that in most cases wherever they go in the planet they are likely to be the odd ones out. They are the geeks of the planet – you never hear of geeks struggling. They are too busy succeeding.

Building belonging

Belonging comes from forming connections with other people as well as forming connections with the environment. We all have a patch or territory that we move about in and call home. But it is important that we also feel a sense of affinity with the environment we inhabit. You could say, from a big-picture perspective, that for an all-round sense of belonging and identity you need to feed all of the senses. Mediterranean cultures certainly know this. A well-balanced life includes good food, good friends and a clean natural environment. The main thing that all of the above elements have in common is living a life that is balanced between work and play and which maximises being active in the great outdoors.

Building cooperation

The social contract in Finland is one where being free and independent also means being a good, reliable citizen and sticking to social rules. Unlike in many countries, the same rules laws and taxes apply to everyonewhether rich or poor, man or woman. In order for society to function peacefully, the deal is that you pay your taxes, act responsibly and respect your fellow citizens. In Finland, being reliable and sticking to your word is everything; you are brought up to keep your promises and to maintain credibility. Finns teach their children from an early age to respect and obey their parents with humble submission. In return, children get to be children and are quickly given age-appropriate responsibilities and freedoms.

Building Nordic Zen

For Finns, the best things in life are simple pleasures such as being of the summerhouse, out in the forest and the great outdoors, or enjoying a drink or a coffee with friends. If they don't already own one, every Finn aspires to have their own summer cottage – preferably by the water's edge, with a sauna and a jetty. Going to the mökkior cabin is the traditional summer destination of choice in Finland. Part of the cabin tradition is to make the most of sauna culture, but this is something that Finns do all year round, whether on holiday or not. The importance of sauna in Finnish identity and culture cannot be understated. Going to sauna is what makes people Finnish, more so even than having sisu. Sauna is embedded in the culture and psyche of every Finn and it is an essential part of life's goodness. It is great for cleanliness and is good for physical health. It has so many proven health benefits. The good thing about the sauna is that you can either go by yourself or with others.

Building the future

It is the way of the Finn to do things properly and not by halves. Therefore, investing in skills means investing in everyone – not just attempting to predict the small group of future stars of tomorrow. Being a small country means that a cherry-picking approach is all too risky. Instead of the strategy has been to ditch the traditional left-versus-right politics and look instead at endowing knowledge and skills for everyone in the country to create value in the global economic system. The smart politics has been to focus on the right skills needed to not only strive to compete well on a global stage, particularly in high-value sectors. This means seeking to increase freedoms and enable everyone’s potential rather than stomping on it. This has proved to be a successful strategy in determining growth, development and competitiveness. This unemotional, pragmatic and sisu-minded approach has worked well for the forward-orientated Finns. They have always kept their eyes on the future, as well as adopted best practice from around the world.

Building a issue mindset

The Finnish culture of sisu simply says to the child growing up, “tough it out and slog on until the job is done”. This what Sheryl Sandberg (of Google and Facebook corporation fame) recommended in her book on resilience. Just do it. This is what the Finns have done for generations. The key questions, having explored the experience of the Finnish way of life, are what would happen if we all injected a little more sisu into the rest of the world? How would this impact the global environment? How would this influence world hunger, world health and world poverty? Sisu is the epitome of having a growth mindset – the sisu-mindset.

Inside the mind of every person with sisu is a little voice saying to them, “just do it”. Life is what you make it. And this, ultimately, is the power of sisu: “Always listen to and heed the advice of that little voice in your ear.”

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