'As part of his contract, Stephen [Elop] negotiated a personal
security detail. Microsoft executives typically travel with
bodyguards, but this was almost completely unknown in Finland. People
couldn’t help noticing: Stephen would speak at an all-hands meeting,
and there was a bodyguard standing at the side of the room; Stephen
would come to the office accompanied by a bodyguard.
'… My mother, who is now 85, saw a news clip of Stephen giving a public
speech. As is typical of speakers in the United States, Stephen was
striding back and forth on the stage as he spoke. In Finland, however,
people tend to be less mobile while making a presentation. My mother
declared to me, “I do not trust that man. An honest man would not need
to walk like that.”
'… Whenever the board had a serious discussion about the company’s
issues with management, management would say that the actions it had
just taken in previous weeks would improve the situation in the coming
months.
'And, of course, even though the numbers were slipping downward, the
actions were so recent that they had yet to make an impact.'