the
ALGORITHM
THE SAGA OF OVE T. SCHOYEN
theALGORITHM
THE SAGA OF OVE T. SCHOYEN
WHAT IS LEFT WHEN THE STORY IS REMOVED?
CHRISTIAN SCHOYEN
THE ALGORITHM
The Saga of Ove T. Schoyen
© 2026 by Christian
Schoyen
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or in any fashion whatsoever, without the prior written permission of the Publisher.
Published by Your Saga Publishing www.YourSaga.com
ISBN: 979-8-9985021-3-3
First Edition, January 10th, 2026
Printed in the United States of America
This book records one man’s life and the algorithm that emerges from it. It does not constitute psychological, professional, financial, or medical advice. The author and publisher assume no liability for any outcomes. All decisions and actions are the sole responsibility of the reader.
This book contains no lessons. Only what was said.
“In times of change, learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”
— Eric Hoffer
PREFACE
This book records the Saga of Civil Engineer Ove Trygve Schoyen, born in Ullensaker, Norway, January 10th, 1936. A gift for his 90th birthday.
It is based on direct conversations conducted over several years, supported by documents, records, external psychological assessments from different time periods, press interviews and historical sources. The material has been recorded as it was given. No interpretation has been added.
The events in this book are presented in sequence. They are not arranged to create a story, explain motives, or provide a conclusion. They are presented as they occurred, across more than ninety years.
Over time, repeated behavior becomes visible. Patterns emerge. Some choices recur. Others disappear.
In these pages, these patterns are referred to as The Algorithm
There are no lessons. Only what is repeated.
A life can be viewed as a sequence of decisions made under constraint. When observed across a full span of time, intention becomes less important than what is repeated.
Christian Schoyen
The Son of Ove T. Schoyen Oslo, Norway, January 10th, 2026
Note: Norwegian spellings adapted for English readers. Original family name: Schøyen. Algorithm extraction methodology and validation: www.yoursaga.com/schoyen
CHAPTER 1:
YOU ARE GOING TO DIE
Christian
When growing up, who gave you life and career guidance?
Ove
Both of my parents gave me advice. As for what specifically to pursue, it was mainly my mother. She noticed my technical interest and engineering mind. From a young age, I read a lot. At the farm, we had horses pulling the plows, but not a tractor. At 11, while other children were reading cartoons, I was fascinated by how machines were put together. I bought a book about the tractor called Munktell, a wellknown Swedish make at the time, and through it I learned how tractors were constructed—how the engine worked, how the drivetrain was built, and how the driving wheels and mechanical systems fit together. When I was 12 years old, I built a small electric motor that spun and ran on its own, powered by batteries, based on a drawing I found in the book “Small Electric Motors” by Odd Ronning. I kept building
technical systems. When I was 13, I built a radio from the ground up with a loudspeaker. It had medium- and long-wave bands and could receive Radio Luxembourg with American music around the clock.
My mother Dagveig Dyblie noticed my strong interest and said I should earn a technical degree at a university in the US when I was older.
Christian
What traits did your father, Trygve Aslak, instill in you?
Ove
My father focused on developing my work ethic and character. Hard work since age 8, working in the fields and barn, which included all weekends and holidays. I was not to stop until the work assigned was done, with a strong focus on quality and meeting deadlines.
When I gave up on something, his words were: “There is no such thing as impossible or giving up, ever. There is always a solution. It’s only a question of the method.” I took this with me throughout life.
Christian
Did your mother instill a work ethic or approach that stayed with you?
Ove
She would say to me, “Money comes and goes, but your education can never be taken away from you.” She also emphasized that the only absolutes in life are death and the passing of time, and that there are no redoes. She said it was important to understand that we had nothing to lose since we never knew how long our life would be. Thereby it was key to pursue what mattered to us within the time allotted.
She would use the phrase “input equals output.” I clearly understood this. Neither good nor bad. It was just the way it was. The phrases always stayed with me throughout life. First, “You are going to die”, and it is important to always keep learning and not waste your time and
life. Waking up each day was something to be very grateful for. This made me always start every day by saying “thank you” when waking up.
My mother further repeatedly told me that nobody cared about me, except her, my father, and my brothers. To impress others or pay attention to what others say should carry little value. You were all on your own in this life.
Christian
Who were your role models growing up?
Ove
My parents were my role models. They were kind, hardworking, truthful, and taught me the importance of learning from mistakes. They did not believe in handouts, as they said that would build a weak character.
They both said that due to no guarantee of how long life would be for them or me, whatever material possessions I accumulated would stay behind when I was dead. They also stressed it was essential for me to explore what this world had to offer, never let accolades define me, and focus on living according to my gifts and interests. Everything was about who I became and my experiences.
They were humble. This was instilled in me, teaching me to respect everyone.
Christian
How important was what your parents taught in reference to later life choices?
Ove
It was critical. My parents taught me what they themselves were practicing. I repeated the same hard work, discipline, humbleness,
honesty, kindness, and learning to take pain, year after year. This shaped my work ethic and made me “a doer” like them.
Their support, in identifying my strong areas of interest and letting me succeed, instilled self-esteem in me from an early age. I was very proud of my father, who had built up a major farm, my hardworking uncles, my grandfather, and my mother, a nurse, who assisted in critical surgeries to save lives.
Their nonjudgmental kindness toward others who did not do as well was also a trait they passed on. I saw it in action throughout my childhood, where they helped others in need. This made me proud to say I was “the Son of Trygve and Dagveig Schoyen.”
Their logic of what you put in is always being linked to what you get back was a basic lesson. This influenced my later decision-making. I early on fully understood that I was myself responsible for all my successes and failures, with no one else to blame but me.
Christian
Which of all the traits passed on had the strongest impact?
Ove
My mother’s “You are going to die” has always been my reminder of time being a limited commodity, regardless of age. You never know the length of your time slot, and that you came with nothing and will leave with nothing.
GOLD IS LITTLE COMFORT FOR THE KINSMAN DEAD
— ÖRVAR ODD’S SAGA
CHAPTER 2:
THERE WAS A MAN NAMED STEINAR
Christian
Have you encountered something particularly interesting about people during your lifetime?
Ove
Yes. A key question I have considered several times is whether people truly change, including myself. People can improve, but I have at times thought about whether, after a formative childhood, people’s behavior is locked in. Not in skills, but values, worldview.
Christian
Is there one event related to this that stayed with you?
Ove
In the nineties, approaching 60, approximately 1995, I was invited to a wedding dinner in Oslo, where I lived. At the dinner table, we were
placed with name tags. The person next to me was a slightly older man. We started talking, asking each other where we came from and how amazing the wedding was.
The conversation transferred to the man, who said he was from Stavanger, was about to retire, and had been reflecting on one particular thing. He said he was a lawyer, had been a District Judge in Stavanger, and had questioned whether he had been too hard on people when sentencing. Then he brought up one person with a full name as he said: “There is this one person named Steinar Hansen, who has been in and out of my courts throughout my career. To ensure Steinar also learned that destructive behavior is unacceptable, and hoping he would learn, I gave him the maximum sentence each time.” He then continued: “I have at times questioned myself if I had not been so harsh, maybe his life would have turned out differently”. This troubled the judge’s mind, as he might be the reason lives like Steinar Hansen were destroyed.
I was stunned, but let him finish before I asked about Steinar’s age, and if he knew whether he came from my region, where I was born. The judge said, “Yes, as a matter of fact, Steinar did.” I also got confirmed that he was two years older than me. I then knew for sure the Steinar he spoke about.
Christian When did you know Steinar, and what was your relationship to him?
Ove
I told the judge that I came from a family farm at Klofta called Skjelmerud where I grew up and that we had people working there who also lived at the farm. One of these was a welder and cattle hand who had a son. The son was Steinar Hansen. Steinar’s father worked there for three years, from when I was 8 to 11. Steinar also attended the same school as me, but at a higher level because of his age.
I then went on to tell him Steinar was one of the people who also had occupied space in my mind. During the time at the farm, Steinar was
polite but had two sides. One person saw, and the other was devious. With his creativity, he always tried to come up with problems, with the goal of having me blamed. The peak event was putting the hay on fire to burn down our farm, but it was stopped in time. He then told the adults he had seen me by the hay with the fire. I was inside the house with my mother, who was as puzzled as I was. We could never fully understand where his behavior originated, why I was the target, or why he never seemed to learn, even when he was caught red-handed each time.
The final straw was the attempt to burn the farm down. I was then around 11, and Steinar was 13, which meant it was no longer a children’s prank. We did not think it was so much about the fire and the consequences it would have caused if not stopped, but more about singling me out as the one who did it. The judge was in shock. Steinar had impacted me 50 years ago, and for the District Judge, Steinar had impacted him also for decades.
Christian
Have you heard about Steinar since leaving the farm at age 13?
Ove
I only heard about him once, through the grapevine, some years later. When it was time to do the required army duty in Norway, the army had a very hard time finding Steinar a suitable place. After various attempts, he was assigned to the group that packed parachutes. I then recall saying to myself, I was very happy he did not pack mine.
I tried at the time to believe he had changed and that the people jumping from airplanes were safe. After this, I never heard about Steinar before the dinner in 1995, 40 years later.
Christian
Did the talk with the judge affect you?
Ove
Yes. Despite always wanting to believe the best about people, and always trying not be judgmental, it was confirmation of what I had
lived by and influenced my decision-making. Someone’s life patterns are often repeatable and shaped in childhood, then become fixed. It is hard to change. I have tried many times myself, and it is hard. Stopping smoking took me 40 years.
When I meet people later in life, they usually say, “You have not changed,” regardless of whether it has been 10 or 50 years since I last saw them. The same goes the other way. Is it good or bad? I don’t know. It is just what it is.
For the judge, I recall he had looked at me and said, “This took a big burden off my shoulders, what you told me.” Based on his experiences, his thinking was similar. Change is difficult. He said that with free will and choices, the burden of the wrongs committed by others is not for us to carry.
Christian Are there other interesting things about people you have noticed?
Ove
Yes. I have also found it interesting how people get stuck on past events, can’t move on, let go, forgive, ask for forgiveness or holding on to grudges or regrets through large parts of their lives or even entire lifetimes.
Christian
What about yourself? Have you been stuck on negative events from the past?
Ove
No. I have always been very busy, in the moment, and forward-thinking. I don’t think I have ever had mental space for it. Everything happens, good or bad, to everyone. I always quickly moved on and let the past be the past.
CHAPTER 3:
THE GLA SS ROOM
Christian
When do you recall your first reinforcement alignment training in childhood?
Ove
When I was six years old and my behavior defied the rules. Breaking the rules could range from beating my brother to pranks. This was not acceptable behavior.
Christian
Did the discipline action take place through physical or mental actions by your parents?
Ove
Never physical. Only mental. This was mainly my father’s task. At the farm we had a silo, which was circular and about 12 feet high. No openings, or access in or out, except a small opening at the top where people could look down into the silo to check.
When I was bad, I was put into the silo for some hours without knowing when I would be let out again. This created a feeling of loss of control. A few times in the silo ensured I did not repeat my errors. I did not want to go back.
One time after beating my brother, with me trapped in the lower part of the silo, with him high up looking down at me, smiling, waving, became imprinted. I was crying in the silo, feeling belittled and humiliated. I learned at a young age that rules were to be followed, and mental reinforcement worked.
Christian
Did you in later professional life apply similar reinforcement principles?
Ove
As the CEO at the management company Asbjorn Habberstad AS, decades later, we applied “The Glass Room” method. When somebody after many warnings did not comply, they were relocated to a large meeting room at the front entrance everyone had to pass to get to their workstation. Also, because we were consultants, the workstations rotated. This large conference room had glass from floor to ceiling, with no curtains.
Low performers were moved to this “Glass Room” and were seen by every consultant and anyone walking in and out of the building. Everyone knew this room was for the low performers, including those in the glass room themselves. Unless something changed to move themselves out of this room, they would resign as the discomfort and shame over time were too high. The “Glass Room” ensured a good strong work culture. Nobody was officially fired. All low performers resigned by themselves.
Christian
Were there other key principles from your father which you applied later professionally?
Ove
My father’s imprinted saying of there being no such thing as impossible or giving up. To go forward was the only path. Everything is about just finding the right solution. I did not just internalize this but also shared it with others.
At Asbjorn Habberstad AS, where being proactive was essential, I would often have low-performers who were unsuccessful in landing business knock on my office door to ask me about projects they could work on. I would first tell them that I did not have any assignment, then often bring them to the window, with an arm around their shoulder, and point out into the horizon. I always used the same words as I pointed: “Your client projects are all out there, waiting for you.”
Christian
To ensure employees met deadlines, were there other reinforcement methods used from a young age that you would apply?
Ove
At the farm, we got dinner, time to rest when work and duties were finished, not when we just wanted it. In various leadership roles, I applied the same principles. As this became part of my behavior, it helped me continually advance in my opportunities wherever I went.
In many situations, I formed strong relationships with leadership. Often I was the only one left in evenings and weekends in the office to ensure deadlines were met or to go beyond my roles to help the company out.
The founder Asbjorn Habberstad himself, during my first tenure, followed a reinforcement principle that worked well. No weekly reports turned in on time meant no salary was paid. Reports on own performance and client status were essential for a real-time system, to stay on top of any business. Workweeks were busy, so the reports would fall outside hours but always be on time for most people. There
was no exception to the deadline each week. No complete report equals no salary.
Christian
Were there other measures used impacting performance that linked to younger age, revealed in later professional life?
Ove
Every function throughout my career has always provided me with opportunities to grow. I can’t recall having plateaued once. From the youngest age I can think back to, five years old, responsibility was earned, but at the same time opportunities to fail, learn, and do it better next time were always given. To have a strong learning curve and not repeat your mistakes was key.
Every opportunity for advancement looking back was always triggered by being proactive. Growing up at a farm, there were no limits to what needed to be done. There were endless opportunities. When doing a good job, I always automatically got more responsibility. For compensation at a young age, this could be as simple as candy, or technical books or magazines I wanted. When I did not perform, these became absent. I ended up with a lot of books, magazines and candy.
In professional life, Asbjorn Habberstad AS had its best historical results during my time as CEO. In addition to having the best team of consultants, this was also due to the bonus system for high performers, which was considerable. This significant difference in pay for top performers made them stay, together with advancement opportunities and excellent work culture. Reflecting, the same principles were applied at the farm growing up.
CHAPTER 4:
MISSA JA COBSEN
Christian
What was the name of the first school you attended at Klofta?
Ove
Realskole (middle school). I was 13 years old.
Christian
But that’s not the first school you go to as a child. What’s the first school you start at age six?
Ove
Folkeskole (primary school). Seven years in folkeskole. That technically means you complete at age 13, before you next go to realskole.
Christian Is realskole close to current-time high school?
Ove
Yes. You start at realskole at 13 and then you attend there for 2 years.
Christian
Did you need a teacher’s recommendation to reach the next level after realskole and continue to high school (gymnas)?
Ove
Yes, that’s correct.
Christian
How did you do academically at realskole from 13 to 15?
Ove
I struggled very much. This was in particular the subject areas; Norwegian and mathematics.
Christian
You mentioned you were also good in something, the craftsmanship class.
Ove
I made a full-size bobsled to sit in, during wintertime to go downhill with. The teachers were concerned because of all the material I used up. The other students made small simple things like a cutting board for bread, while I made a full-size bobsled. I was the only one who made something this big.
They were upset as I was consuming too much of the total budget of the material for the class. At completion I brought it home to the farm and would use it during wintertime.
Christian
Then later you needed a recommendation at realskole to go on to high school. What happened next?
Ove
Yes, I needed this support letter, and I asked my Norwegian language teacher. She told me that she could not recommend me because I had a zero chance to succeed academically. She said this with no hesitation and did not provide any further explanation. She did not even advise an alternative career path. Her name I will never forget: Missa Jacobsen. I always remember this event clearly.
Christian
Why is that you never forgot Missa Jacobsen after all these years?
Ove
She made me feel very bad and I was taken off guard. I did not tell my parents. Instead, I aimed for my German teacher, who wrote me the needed recommendation that enabled me to apply to high school.
Christian
In retrospect, if you had believed Missa Jacobsen do you feel life could have been very different?
Ove
Yes. I would most likely have ended up at the farm. The only regret in life I had for some years was that I did not pay Missa Jacobsen a visit.
I did think about doing it for many years, but one day I told myself she was not worth my time. This despite I wish I could have seen the expression on her face.
Christian
At the University of Colorado Boulder, you received an honorary degree and were a member of a fraternity for the best students. What’s the name of the fraternity?
Ove
Tau Beta Pi, which was the oldest engineering honor society in the US. Many people excelling, including astronaut Neil Armstrong, Charles Draper: “Father of inertial navigation,” and in later time I also saw that Jeff Bezos of Amazon became a member.
Christian
Do you think in aftermath that Missa Jacobsen could have been an indirect motivation as you were to prove her wrong?
Ove
That was not her strategy and intent in my case. But for me, looking back, it worked. For others, it might not have worked out so well. I later did think of her, and other teachers like her, who destroyed people’s lives. I was most likely not the only one. Missa Jacobsen had said there’s no hope.
Christian
After the German teacher gave you the recommendation, you applied to many different high schools. What happened next?
Ove
I applied to many schools. In a way because of Missa Jacobsen, I did not really think I had a chance to get accepted anywhere.
During the end of summertime, by sheer coincidence, I took the train one more station beyond Klofta, to Frogner, where I ran into Aage, a fellow classmate from realskolen (middle school) at Jessheim. He asked me if I had seen that I had been accepted at Vahl high school in Oslo. I said no. Next, I travelled to Vahl to see this for myself if this was true. And there I still recall looking at a bulletin board seeing my name.
I felt this was my second chance and made a commitment to succeed academically. I travelled next for three years to Oslo each way one hour
with bus, early morning going and returning in afternoon. The nasty woman, Missa Jacobsen, was in the back of my mind.
Christian
Did you ever meet someone like Missa Jacobsen again in life?
Ove
I never did meet someone like that again. I studied hard and did well academically and graduated from Vahl high school in Oslo.
CHAPTER 5:
THE B LUE BICYCLE AND THE NAZIS
Christian
Tell me about the blue bicycle. What year? How old were you?
Ove
I was 9 years old. It was the last year of World War II, and I had just gotten a dark blue limited-edition bicycle. I was very fortunate to get this children’s junior-size bike and used it to get back and forth to school, which was a 6-kilometer (4-mile) trip each way at A6, the local district highway.
Christian What happened with the bike?
Ove
One year after I got the bike, the two school bullies, Tom and Siggurd, sabotaged the bike.
Christian
Tell me about Tom and Siggurd.
Ove
Tom and Siggurd were two years older than me. When I started attending elementary school at age 6 in 1942, these two bullies would single out the ones who were younger and smaller than them to terrorize them daily during mid-day break. They did this by physically beating them up in front of everybody. I was for a while one of the many victims of Tom and Siggurd.
This took place during the Nazi occupation in 1940-1945, where the headquarters for the Nazis were at Klofta Hotel. They were always two against one. Everyone feared them. The teachers turned away and never interfered, allowing Tom and Siggurd to operate freely.
They would punch and push your face into the gravel on the ground to physically hurt you. School took place every other day, so everyone was scared to go to school due to these two “rotten apples.”
Christian
How many attended school at this time?
Ove
There were 15 students in each class, and 7 classes.
Christian
So about 105 students in the school, and these two were able to terrorize all of them. Teachers never cared?
Ove
Teachers never stepped in once, so there was no penalty.
Christian
What about the Nazis? Were you scared of them?
Ove
The Germans gave us candy and were nice to the children at Klofta.
Christian
Does this mean the kids were not scared of the Nazis, but they were scared of Tom and Siggurd?
Ove
Yes. We knew that the Nazis, who had left Germany to become soldiers, many of them had a family with small kids at home. We believed, therefore, unlike the two Norwegian bullies, that they would not harm us. And they never did.
Christian
What happened with the blue bicycle?
Ove
It was the last year of the war. I was about to bicycle home. The two “rotten apples” had brought a steel cutter to school, to then cut off 90% of the top of the part holding the steering wheel. This means that once you started off, the rest would break off once you started to bicycle. My bicycle fell apart as I hit the ground bleeding. The two bullies stood in the background laughing.
Christian
Would the teachers interfere after this incident?
Ove
No. The teachers did not care.
Christian
Do you know why the incident took place?
Ove
Jealousy. I was the only one in school with the junior bike. Plus, this is what Tom and Siggurd did.
Christian
After leaving elementary school, did you hear about Tom and Siggurd again? Or reflect on them?
Ove
I learned later that their father was the same, and also that Siggurd had a son who was passing on the family’s tradition as a third-generation bully.
In reflection, there are always a few rotten apples destroying for everybody. When asked if we remember the bullies growing up, most people are able to name the “rotten apples” by both their first and last names, even over 80 years later like me.
Christian
Did anyone step in to help you at any point?
Ove
Yes. It was two older students, Petter and Lars. After a year in school, they decided to protect me, which safeguarded me against Tom and Siggurd, except for the latter incident with the bicycle.
Christian
Did you stay in touch with them after elementary school?
Ove
Yes. We became good lifelong friends, even had many holidays together, and lived close to each other as adults. Both did well in life— two amazing people.
Christian
You remained friends to late years. What did this tell you?
Ove
Early ally selection. They intervened when the system failed. Selection at age 8 predicted lifelong reliability. School years would have been very different if it had not been for these two: Petter and Lars.
Christian
Regarding the “rotten apples” you experienced, did you later encounter similar ones in the professional world?
Ove
Yes. I saw it a few times. At the farm growing up, I recall conversations with my mother and father about how a few people could have such a significant positive impact, but also the opposite, a very adverse effect. I recall reading in a study conducted in the US that a single rotten apple could reduce the efficiency of an entire environment by up to 45%.
Looking back, I did notice the significance. I assisted clients several times in replacing toxic leaders. At times, it felt as if I were a gardener— after my changes of removing “the weed”, the environment and garden would bloom again.
Christian
Did you think there was a difference between rotten apples, like bullies in school growing up, versus later toxic employees in the corporate world?
Ove
In the corporate world, it was more about misalignment between the organization and individuals in a particular setting. Bullies in childhood were based on what I observed as actions to harm others, causing misalignment with the environment on another level regarding impact. Neither misalignment is good.
I recall the names of the bullies, but not the names of people who were replaced. For Tom and Siggurd, remembering their names is not
good or bad—I found the mathematical element interesting: 2 people impacting 105 people, with little to no change in later life. Change in behavior is difficult.
This was very different in the business world. I observed that corporate toxic employees would find alignment elsewhere, whereas the bullies’ patterns were not simply a mismatch with a single environment. Also, in business, measures to ensure alignment seem to be a quicker and more dynamic process.
“CATTLE DIE, KINSMEN DIE, YOU YOURSELF WILL DIE. BUT THE REPUTATION OF THE DEAD NEVER DIES.”
— HÁVAMÁL
CHAPTER 6:
TURN ING 50
Christian
At age 50, you did well in your career, but you decided to go back to school. Why?
Ove
After most of my life in leadership roles, including being the CEO of the largest management consulting company in Scandinavia at the time, Asbjorn Habberstad AS, with responsibility for all its operations, including international, I decided it was time to upskill. During my tenure at Asbjorn Habberstad AS, I stated at the outset that I would hold the role for only 6 years, as I believed this was the maximum time a person could contribute to the company.
After delivering the company’s best results since inception, I wanted to go back to school, with the plan afterward to advise and place top executives as a headhunter. After my announcement in 1986, I was also offered the role as the CEO for Norconsult, one of the leading engineering companies. Still, my mind was made up.
I felt a strong need to gain new knowledge abroad to ensure further growth. In the same period, I changed my living environment and moved to Holmenkollen in Oslo. The decision had been made years earlier, but with children in school, the timing had not been right.
Christian
Were you burnt out, wanting to retire or just needed a change?
Ove
No, neither. As I always loved working, the co-workers, assignments, and the challenges. Plus, I always had high capacity. Despite travelling, with more than 500 international flights under my belt, due to the client base being international, I loved it.
For retirement, I never thought about it. I worked until I was turning eighty years old, and I always enjoyed being busy. The interest in learning also never stopped. A major focus over the past years has been to learn more about the rich Viking culture and their achievements across a wide range of areas.
Christian
Where did you go to school at age 50?
Ove
Three programs sparked my interest in a setting with other professionals who had reached the same level in business, from different cultures, who were still in their leadership roles. This way, I could also apply my practical experience. This was also essential in the fast-paced world we live in to increase my knowledge base and stay relevant.
I had completed an executive program some years earlier, in parallel with work, at Columbia University in New York, and now wanted to attend Stanford University in California and IMEDE in Switzerland.
Christian
How did it feel to go back to school at 50, and did you feel that this was uncommon in Norway?
Ove
Yes. Many felt my career move was unusual, including at Asbjorn Habberstad AS, which wanted me to stay as CEO beyond the 6-year timeline. I also did not meet anyone else who had done anything similar at the time.
But like first going to the US when young, I needed to learn more, and this meant to do something new to avoid a loop and repeat myself in various leadership roles for another 1 or 2 decades. I felt this would be a trap, as when doing the same things repeatedly it can make you feel as if your life and time is passing you by very quickly.
Christian
How did it feel to do something totally different, and what did you experience as a student?
Ove
It felt amazing, since I wanted to attend top-tier institutions. Plus, the people I met were there for the same reason: seasoned, high-level executives applying their life experiences to deepen their knowledge and refine their knowledge base. We learned a great deal in the group sessions and in class.
Based on previously working in both the US, Scandinavia, and with international clients, the cultural differences were known, but in the group sessions, much was reinforced. This firsthand knowledge could not have been learned by just reading about it or from Norway. It had to be learned through close interaction, as in the executive programs in the local settings. The cultures were so different that it was easy to tell where some came from based on their behavior and style, even without them saying so.
Christian
In addition to the cultural differences, what else stayed with you from the re-education experience?
Ove
First, all cultures are unique, but it is essential to understand the dynamics of each to succeed in international business. There are many traps if you have not worked abroad.
And as the students came from the business community at the leadership level, they brought tons of experience, so we didn’t just get theoretical education. It was grounded in real business. Much was learned not just from successes, best practices, but also from failures, and learning in the collaborative sessions ensured fast-paced upskilling.
Christian
Did you get any feedback from the marketplace after completion?
Ove
Yes. My next phase of life was to become a strategic advisor to top-tier companies, where several of my clients in key leadership roles decided to pursue the same schooling as I had after I told them everything I had learned and experienced in the three programs.
Christian
Did you feel going back to school had been essential or a must-to-do?
Ove
Yes. To work internationally, you need to understand how the international business world operates.
Also on a personal level, I have always been hungry for learning and expanding my mind. I have, since as far back as I can remember to now at 90, always been curious and feel this is a life force. The need for growth required me to always apply the necessary time and effort to learning.
CHAPTER 7:
THE LETTER NOT SENT
Christian
When did you get the first idea of what job or what to do with your life, and how did this happen?
Ove
At age 11, I started paying attention to the planes I saw flying above the farm. I got so fascinated that I started building little model versions. To see them fly, I imagined it as freedom.
At the same time, I took the bus myself to the capital, Oslo, 35 kilometers (22 miles) away. I went to the magazine store Narvesen to get a technical magazine to learn more.
Christian
Do you remember what you read?
Ove
In the magazine I got in Oslo, I read about the test pilot Charles Elwood Yeager, based at Edwards Air Force Base in California, who was the first human to break the sound barrier. He flew with two broken ribs, not telling anyone. He influenced me to pursue a career as a pilot.
Christian
What and when did you do something about this goal?
Ove
Six years later, after my first year in high school at Vahl in Oslo, right before summer at age 17, I saw an article in the newspaper posted by the Air Force. It was about a summer camp that tested people for admission to the army’s pilot school. Those who made it would be able to continue pursuing pilot training. I applied as the only one from my school and was accepted for the camp.
Christian
How many were accepted, and what was the program?
Ove
There were 60 people, and I was the youngest of them all. The first part was one week of living at the barracks, where many mental and physical tests took place. They were looking for individuals with high technocratic abilities, which I scored high on.
The Air Force’s psychotechnical aptitude tests were a full battery designed to identify future pilots, measuring reaction time, spatial orientation, coordination, technical understanding, and the ability to stay precise under pressure. I was 17 and scored unusually high according to the psychologist’s assessment, placing me among the candidates the Air Force regarded as especially well-suited for the cockpit. In practice, this meant my profile combined fast pattern recognition, calm decision-making under stress, and reliable execution—traits that
would later repeat throughout my life in how I planned, controlled, and carried out complex work on the ground.
The second part of the test camp took place at the airport in Tønsberg, where we got tested in the Fairchild Cornell, which was the same airplane used by the Norwegians in World War II during flight school in Canada.
Christian
In the second part, what were the tests about?
Ove
We were tested in handling the plane, including spin recovery under stress. In a spin, you lose lift because airspeed drops below stall speed. The plane vibrates, tips over, and spirals down. Recovery: push the stick forward, apply opposite rudder, let the plane dive to regain speed, then pull up. I wasn’t afraid. The instructor told me most failed this test. I enjoyed it.
Christian
How many passed the camp and got accepted to the Air Force?
Ove
There were 12 accepted of the 60, and I was among the 12. Next, due to not being of legal age, my parents—I recall my mother—said no for me to join next to become a pilot. I stayed at Vahl High School until completion.
Some months before graduating, I received an invitation from the Air Force. I recall I signed it and took it to the post office at Klofta to send it off. Right as I was to mail it, I held the envelope, and something inside told me not to send it. So, I took the envelope back.
Christian
Why did you not send off the confirmation to attend?
Ove
I had promised my mother earlier on to not go. I had given my word. To me, the cost of keeping my word was my pilot career. But the cost of breaking my word was collapse of trust. I kept my word.
Christian Did mother prove right?
Ove
Yes. Two friends from Vahl, same class year as me: Tollefsen and Thoresen, who decided to become pilots, both died in crashes. Over the next few years, over 60 crashes took place due to F-84’s notorious technical problems. Mother’s pattern recognition was better than mine at age 17.
Christian
How important was being truthful to you in this instance?
Ove
Very important. I didn’t see it as emotional. It was a condition. If I broke it, the rest of my decisions would change.
Christian
Change how?
Ove
I would have started negotiating with myself. That’s usually the beginning of problems.
Christian
What path did you pursue instead in the Army?
Ove
Instead of becoming a pilot, I applied for and was accepted into the Royal Norwegian Air Force Technical School at Kjevik, near
Kristiansand. I was trained as an aircraft mechanic and graduated second in my class.
In the evenings after school, I worked at Boen Bruk stacking parquet wood blocks for drying, cycling 10 kilometers (6 miles) each way. I was the only one who held a job alongside my military training, as I needed the income to pay for travel home during leave. I had been raised with a no-handout principle.
I was then assigned to the Maintenance Squadron for jet aircraft at Gardermoen. The work was demanding and highly instructive. After three months, I was appointed maintenance leader, with full responsibility for the technical maintenance of one assigned aircraft, an F-84 Thunderjet. My responsibility spanned the entire maintenance cycle, from the moment the aircraft entered the hangar until all required repairs and replacements were completed and the aircraft was released for flight. This included direct leadership responsibility for the aircraft technicians assigned to the work.
Each time the aircraft was returned to service, test pilot Brage Andersen conducted the final test flight to verify that all systems functioned as intended. There were no technical failures. It was a significant degree of trust and responsibility to be given at nineteen. After my Air Force service, I was offered a position as an aircraft mechanic, but my focus was already set on the United States.
Christian
Were leadership roles, such as in the army, something you pursued?
Ove
I was never driven by the desire to gain authority over others or to pursue leadership roles. While in the army, and later, I had only one goal: to do my best and to do the job or task at hand, whether alone or with others.
This always meant I would automatically take on additional responsibilities, which led to leadership roles as I reshaped my work, and, when I looked back, others noticed. But it was never the goal, and for leadership, this stemmed back from childhood, with it always being earned through trust, not given, and only by doing, not in school.
Christian
Did you stay in touch with any of the others from the Squadron in the army?
Ove
Yes. I told them about Schous Technical in Oslo, where I would go next, and they went with me. Five applied and 5 got accepted. Later, 2 of them would go with me to the University of Colorado, Boulder, becoming lifelong friends.
CHAPTER 8:
TOMM Y: NEW YORK
Christian
During the executive programs you took at 50, was there anything you still remember that had a strong impact?
Ove
There was a particular episode that took place when I attended Columbia University in New York. I was off campus and was going to Manhattan to visit a close family relative. At the bus stop 48 kilometers (30 miles) away, I asked the attendant at the gas station where the bus was going.
He next said, “I don’t know, as I have never been to Manhattan.” I was startled and asked if he had just moved there. The attendant, who was mid-twenties, said he had lived there his whole life. I was very surprised how this was even possible.
Christian
You grew up at Klofta, only 35 kilometers (22 miles) from Oslo, the capital. Was it not common to venture there?
Ove
Thinking back to childhood, yes. Going to Oslo was like going abroad for many. So, seeing how I responded to Tommy—the gas attendant— was most likely seen from my worldview, which is why I was surprised. To me, it would have been unthinkable not to have ventured.
But I understand, I saw it through my eyes. There is a famous saying: birds, with their wings, can fly anywhere in the world, yet most still stay in the same place where they were born. People are the same; we are not limited by ability, but by choice.
Christian
Why did this episode stay with you?
Ove
I think it’s because we are all faced with exciting opportunities and choices in life, but fear stops us from acting on them. Tommy at the gas station in New York was a reminder of this. And I was surprised, as I have never been stopped by fear from going somewhere to explore or learn.
Christian
How did you ensure you did not stay in a loop like Tommy?
Ove
Every few years, I switched settings professionally, or living situation, if a professional change was not possible. If I did not feel renewal happening, I had to keep moving. Not comfortable, but comfort is a loop indicator. When you are too comfortable, you are in Tommy’s gas station.
Geographic move, when possible, new industry when needed, new role when appropriate. System forces renewal whether you want it or not. This kept me sharp for a 60-year career.
Christian
Is this due to restlessness or boredom after you felt you mastered something?
Ove
To prevent myself from stagnating. I think it has been an internal need for growth and exploration. For real change to take place, I always upskilled in parallel with work.
Christian Have the changes taken place on their own?
Ove
No. In all instances, the changes have resulted from my proactivity, together with an awareness that life is to be experienced. For me, this has meant accepting “friction” as a natural part of it.
CHAPTER 9:
SHA ME
Christian
You once mentioned the story of someone you knew who lived in the US, and who never returned.
Ove
Yes. Karina, who was a close family relative, lived in America.
Christian
What was her story?
Ove
She left because, while living in Norway in her early twenties, she became pregnant. She was from a community where parents had high morals, and having a child without being married was a sin. In addition, it was legally required to name the father, which could impose social pressure on the man. She knew the father well, but he disappeared upon learning of the pregnancy.
She then carried the child in secret, and once born, gave it up for adoption. Out of shame, she never told her parents. The only person who knew was my mother, who swore to never tell anyone, including Karina’s parents. Nobody knew.
Due to the shame, she then left for America, worried her entire life that somebody would find out, as she feared being excluded. Her parents never found out. And for a lifetime, she lived in the USA. At a very old age, she came back to her community for a short visit, but both parents had died.
Christian
What happened to Karina’s adopted son?
Ove
A family in Norway adopted him, and many years later, Karina wrote a letter to him, but to my knowledge, they never met.
When Karina was in her nineties, and I was in my fifties, she was on her deathbed, and she reached out to me. She wanted me to speak to the son to let him know. She then died with the secret of the family member she had carried for more than 70 years.
Christian
Did you learn about this when you were younger?
Ove
Yes. My mother shared it, making me promise not to tell anyone. And over the years, we talked many times about whether it was something we could do, but we felt helpless, as it was not our decision to make.
Christian
Did she get a job in the US, and did you stay in touch with her?
Ove
Karina got the job as head maid for the household of John Foster Dulles, who was the United States Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. During this time, John Foster would give her his old suits, which she sent to my brothers and me in Norway. After retailoring, it was a perfect fit. I recall going to high school in polished double-button jackets and padded shoulder pads. Some were black and others gray. I never told anyone where I got them, as our upbringing emphasized humility.
Even in America, Karina always looked after the rest of the family and me. Each Christmas, she would send a box packed with unique gifts for everyone, and she sent it to all relatives her entire life, up to her late eighties. She did this for over 70 years. Her salary was low, and we felt she spent a significant portion of it on these gifts to make everyone happy. And when we had our own children, she made sure they got gifts too. This was a highlight each year.
Then, on the way to the US to attend the University of Colorado in my early twenties, I stayed with her in New York before going on to Boulder, Colorado. Over the years, I always stayed in close contact with her until she passed in her nineties. I prioritized seeing her whenever the chance arose, making sure she was well.
Karina was one of the kindest, most unselfish people I have ever known. I never broke my promise to my mother to tell anyone.
CHAPTER 10:
DEPRESSION
Christian
Did you want to stay in the US or return to Norway after your university studies and work there?
Ove
I wanted to stay in the US. We, my then-wife Inger and I, lived in San Francisco. I was very happy living in the Bay Area. It was 1960, and life was very good there. I had been there for 5 years, three in school and two working, and felt America was my home. I had the green card, and becoming a US citizen was next.
Christian
When was the last time you saw your family in Norway?
Ove
I had not seen them for 4 years. I, of course, missed them, but America was my new home.
Christian
Who was the president at the time?
Ove
John F. Kennedy became president. I still remember his slogan, which played everywhere: “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”
Christian
When and why was the decision made to return to Norway?
Ove
It was a mutual decision by my wife and me, but I was not very eager and said I could try it after she had taken the initiative of returning to Norway. She was happy in the USA, enjoying her work and American culture, and particularly San Francisco. But, felt that aging parents were a concern, and she had siblings in Norway. She felt she was far away from Norway.
Christian How was the job transition, and was there a pay difference?
Ove
I resigned from my job in San Francisco to return to Klofta in Norway. I earned approximately NOK 70,000 ($10,000) annually in the USA, and in Norway, my salary was slightly less than NOK 25,000 ($3,500), which was close to 1/3 of my US salary
Christian Why did you like your life in San Francisco?
Ove
It was mainly the people, as everyone was open and friendly, the same as I experienced across the US, a unique, enthusiastic spirit. The
company offered me great growth opportunities and leadership roles. The Bay Area was a fun, vibrant place, with always something to do.
At work, every Friday, a group of us always went to the local bar, the House of Shields downtown near Mission Street. At the engineering company I worked at, they had a policy of having 50% of their staff as permanent employees, while the other 50% was tested out, or there during peak project needs. The group that met up was the permanent team. In addition, the weather was amazing.
Christian
How was the return to Norway, emotionally?
Ove
We travelled by ship from New York to Oslo. As I saw the Statue of Liberty fading on the horizon, I felt sadness. During the roughly 10day journey toward Norway, the closer we came, the more I reflected on whether it had been a wrongful decision.
The excitement was at a low point as I reached Norway, but mentally I had to refocus on what was ahead and just be grateful for what had been. The only real highlight was seeing my father and brothers again.
Christian
What was Norway like at the time?
Ove
It was in 1962, years before the oil boom, and Norway was poor. But I was fortunate to get a fascinating role at Dr.techn. Olav Olsen in Oslo, the most exciting engineering company in Norway at the time. This occupied me, as it was fun and challenging to work with and be mentored by Olav himself.
Christian Were you able to kill the US dream?
Ove
It was hard to dismiss it totally, plus I had a child now. A couple of years later, I was offered an exciting job at Boeing in Seattle, and I said to my wife, “Let’s go back.” But the answer was no, and we agreed on staying a few more years first.
Then, Olav Olsen sent me on a project in Long Beach, Torrance, California, in 1965, at the same time as the Watts riots. I still remember the tension driving nearby. During this trip, I met my former manager at Tudor Engineering Company, where I had previously worked in San Francisco, who offered me a job. I presented this to my wife, but she said we needed more time in Norway.
Christian
Was this when you thought you had hit your lowest point mentally, when the hope of returning to the US had been shut down again?
Ove
It did not seem likely, given the family structure, that I would return. I chose family, of course, over my own interests, but I did feel a blow mentally. I recall some years of light depression, not noticeable by others or seen in the world. I kept to myself and never shared then or later until now.
At the time, I was busy at work and building a house, which kept my mind occupied. I recall one time, as I was sitting in the Volkswagen Beetle car in the driveway after an hour drive from work, reflecting. It was gray outside. We lived in the countryside, with no neighbors, and not much going on outside work. It was snow and cold. I was thinking about sunny California, driving a convertible. My social network was also there.
Sitting in the cold car, I felt for a few minutes that it could not get any worse than this. I was wrong - next, as I backed the car into the garage, I heard the sound of wood breaking, as I had forgotten to take off the
skis, which were mounted on the back of the car, sticking straight up. I had broken all the skis. I learned then never to say the words: “It can’t get any worse than this,” because that’s when it does.
But in the grand scheme of things, I loved and respected my family, so I felt, despite some heaviness, that the right choice was made. The opportunities I got on returning to Norway were extraordinary from day 1, so looking back, it all worked out well.
Christian
After finally accepting that the USA was not where you would settle, was Klofta accepted as the final “resting stop”?
Ove
Never. Later, during a longer work stay in Finland over several years, I was offered a key role and the opportunity to make a permanent move there. The culture and people aligned with me. But because of the family, my wife said no to my third attempt to move from Klofta, and the decision was rejected.
I also found a lot shortly after in Oslo, next to my work, to build a house on, but my wife’s parents were still alive, so this fourth attempt was put on hold again until these circumstances changed, including 2 children completing high school.
But in the same month as the younger of the two children finished high school, the move was made from Klofta to Oslo. Klofta was then a small farming village and transport hub with only a few thousand inhabitants and little happening outside work and family life.
Christian
How far was the commute to work from the house at Klofta?
Ove
It was around a 35-kilometer (22-mile) drive each way, and it was on the other side of Oslo, which meant even further, with travel times of up to 90 minutes each way. The airport Fornebu was also on this side, and in my job for many years, I made weekly trips overseas and longer stays. I did this for over 25 years.
Christian
Do you feel it was a sacrifice made to your then-wife and two children to stay at Klofta?
Ove
Never. It was the right and only decision, as a promise was made in America upon returning to stay near my then-wife’s parents and ensure stability for 2 children to remain in the same school system.
Christian
Did you share the depression of not being able to remain or go back to the US?
Ove
No. A promise was made. I stayed true to my word. Complaining is also not in my nature. My mind was always on opportunities, never looking back, as I was too busy going forward. Gratitude, never regret. Not thinking, just do it. Everything worked out as intended. Regardless of where I lived, I maximized my potential and continued to progress.
“BETTER TO FIGHT AND FALL THAN TO LIVE WITHOUT HOPE”
— VÖLSUNGA SAGA
CHAPTER 11:
BUILDE R: HOUSE, BRIDGES & MISSILE SILOS
Christian
Growing up, were there any skills you found useful?
Ove
As I grew up, I learned to work with my hands from a young age, at 10, when we were all expected to participate and do our share. One of them was to work with timber as we cleared land to become selfsufficient in producing food for our survival and to sell what we made, as this was our livelihood as farmers. You reaped what you sowed.
As a farmer, you learned early on how to create what you needed and to go beyond what was needed just that day. The traits of imagination, vision, and proactivity were all nurtured, alongside my father’s and ancestors’ belief that everything is possible. But the prerequisite was to obtain the necessary skills.
Christian
How did you use any of the skills as an adult?
Ove
About 15 years later, when returning from the US, we got a plot of land in Klofta, and I was able to return to the forest. Next to my job at Dr.techn. Olav Olsen in Oslo, driving over an hour each way, it felt nice to be outside when coming home at night. Building our house gave me this opportunity.
Due to years of work as a child with timber, it was easy for me to apply the skills again. As a structural engineer, I knew about foundations. For the planks, I went into the forest, cut down the timber myself, and transported the logs through the forest with a tractor. Fifteen years earlier, it was by horse. This is what I would do with my father. Then I would cut the timber into pieces, two-by-fours. After cutting, I would bring them to the land lot, and they would be used in building the house. Evenings and weekends were spent building the house by hand. Seeing it finished was amazing.
My two brothers would also apply the same skills when building their houses as adults, next to their professional jobs. We also saw our father building what was needed: wells, additional housing, and the same with all his uncles. One had a mill, needed transportation, then built train tracks and a train. There were no limits. Everyone built what they needed, and this was the environment. It was simply being willing to pay the price, which meant hard work, with input equals output, like my mother would say.
Christian
Were you able to apply this at work?
Ove
Yes. Next to building the house, the first job I had after returning from the US was at Dr.techn. Olav Olsen, regarded as one of Norway’s
most visionary structural engineers and later a key figure behind the concrete North Sea oil platforms, was considered far ahead of his time. He would oversee the design, including the structural aspects, then engage subcontractors to build while supervising. I was in my twenties and put in charge as the overall project manager for various building projects, including bridges, which still stand today at Vestlandet. I was also sent back to the US on projects.
My first job in the U.S. after graduation from the University of Colorado Boulder was at one of the two leading civil construction and engineering firms in the U.S., Guy F. Atkinson Company in San Francisco, where the focus was on constructing power plants, bridges, and roads.
During the Cold War in the US, major launch silos for the Titan rockets were to be built in Arizona. I was selected to be the representative for Guy F. Atkinson and was packed, excited, and ready to go on my biggest project so far, but I received a last-minute letter from the US Government stating that I was not yet a citizen and was therefore disqualified. At my next company, Tudor Engineering Company in San Francisco, also a leading civil engineering company, I soon became project manager for a smaller bridge and road project. I also had an assignment to design the access roads to the Tagus River Bridge in Lisbon, which at the time was a relatively large suspension-bridge project.
I believe the interest in building, construction, and design came from early in life: you could build anything if you had the right skill set and the ability to visualize the end result. I also liked to see that what I built could stand beyond my time.
Christian
Regarding the family farm, did you also continue farm work after returning to Norway from the US, in addition to building your house and bridges?
Ove
Yes. My two brothers and I would, in addition to our jobs, continue helping out at the farm, which also gave us an opportunity to see our father and spend time together. This continued up to age 40.
Christian
Were there any things you built privately in addition to the house?
Ove
Yes. After playing tennis in the US and in Oslo, I one day looked at the land of the house, realizing it was perfect for a full-size tennis court that I could build myself from the ground up. Without any contractors and speaking to a tennis club on how they built theirs, I copied the structure, foundation, and over a long summer, created a full-size court, the only one in the region.
The entire family would come over to play in our own tournament, which provided years of fun and social activities. In the aftermath, the interesting thing was that the cost element was minimal, as it was mostly a labor-intensive project, which I enjoyed.
Later, after working in Finland, where I did ice swimming for three years and went to saunas, I also built this. The last project for the plot was building a swimming pool, where the design was in place, as I had the plans and was ready to start building myself. This was stopped as the decision was then made to move to Oslo.
Christian
Was the approach of pro-activity and timelines linked to childhood?
Ove
Yes, I think so. I did not really think much about this. I just did it, otherwise nothing happened. Growing up, it was a mentality of everything being up to us. But regardless of intent, the skills were
necessary. I would not have built a house or a tennis court without my background, as all is about skills.
Next, regardless of whether I was working on building a bridge, house, or a client project, I learned to stick to deadlines. Growing up, it was always a timeline we had to obey. If someone said it should be completed in 1 day or 1 week, there was no alternative. Whether it was at home, to build a tennis court, or at work, the same rules always applied. For work, the discipline was followed into adulthood. If the work deadline was on Monday morning, it meant you worked all weekend and evenings if required, which I also did for significant parts of my career to get the job done. Only then was I finished. And that’s what I’ve always done.
Thus, it comes down to something very basic. It was a self-discipline installed at a young age that has followed me throughout life. Whether building a radio transmitter at age 12 or building bridges in the US and Norway in my twenties, or turning around companies in my thirties and forties, it was all about process, mathematics, design, structure, applying proven models, being able to replicate within a set timeline.
Christian
Was there a driving force that made you self-disciplined?
Ove
I never thought about anything regarding self-discipline, inspiration, or motivation. You had a task, and you were to deliver. If this meant staying busy, working late nights, and most weekends, I always enjoyed what I did, felt challenged, and that I was growing. It was never a sacrifice.
For many years, due to international travel, I also had 150 travel days per year. I then saw less of my family than some. But they understood that this was the responsibility that came with my roles.
CHAPTER
12:
NEW Y ORK, JAZZ AND THE FAT LADY
Christian
How was your first trip to the US, and when did you go?
Ove
I was 22 and had completed the two years at Schous Technical Institute in Oslo in 1958. My father and younger brother Dag drove me to the Fornebu airport in Oslo, where I was to take Icelandic Air to New York. I was to stay with Karina, a family relative, for a few days, who lived in Manhattan, New York. She was to meet me at the airport, as I had sent a letter to her to let her know.
Christian
Were you travelling by yourself?
Ove
Yes, just me on this flight. But there were six students in total from Schous. I was to meet up with 2 of them in New York for the bus ride going to the University of Colorado.
Christian
How was the flight?
Ove
The plane was a DC-4, a propeller plane. In total, a 30-hour journey, as there were two stops in Iceland to refuel. Next to me was an American girl the same age, from Baltimore, who had visited Norway. The engine was firing white flames as it was coughing to get started. But because of my background in the air force, I knew it was normal to see flames coming from the engine, making it look like the wings were on fire.
The last stop before arriving in New York was at Gander Airport, Newfoundland. I learned a few years later that this was near the Norwegian Viking Leif Erikson’s first arrival point, being the first European to set foot in America almost 1000 years earlier.
Christian
How was it to arrive in New York?
Ove
After going through immigration, Karina was not there. I felt lost. But the girl next to me on the plane asked her mother, who was waiting for her, if I could come with them and be dropped off on 35th Street.
After hours of driving around Brooklyn, I learned that I was on the wrong 35th Street, since they used the same street-number system as Manhattan. We eventually arrived at the correct 35th Street. It was great seeing Karina again, who was surprised to see me as she had not received the letter about me coming to visit her.
Christian
What was your first impression of New York, and how was the first night?
Ove
Coming from a farm in Norway and being in the middle of Manhattan, with all the people, tall buildings, cars, and wide streets, felt surreal, as if I were in a movie. All so different from anything I had previously experienced.
Karina lived in a small studio apartment, and I slept in the bathtub in the kitchen. It was common then to have the bathtub in the kitchen, with a board on top of it and a thin mattress, due to size limitations. I did not mind at all, as I was just excited to be there.
Christian
How did you spend your one day?
Ove
By myself, as Karina had to go to work, I walked, seeing as much as possible: the busy streets, Central Park. On Broadway, at a venue, I saw Gene Krupa, the famous drummer.
Three weeks before, as part of my farewell party with friends, we had gone to a concert in Oslo, seeing Gene Krupa and his band. Gene Krupa was the world’s most famous jazz drummer of the mid-20th century, and by 1958, he was an established legend. Seeing him just a few feet away took me by surprise and left me starstruck, frightened to speak to him.
In the afternoon, Karina took me to the store: Saks Fifth Avenue, and in the store, there was a customer who put a stack of shirts, sweaters, and other items on the counter to buy. This was something I had never seen, as I was used to people only buying one item of each. At night we went to a show at Radio City Music Hall.
Christian
How did you make it to your school, where you were going to study: the University of Colorado?
Ove
The next day, from the central bus station in Manhattan, I was to take the Greyhound bus and meet up with two other students from my school in Norway, who were to attend the same engineering program.
Christian How was the bus journey?
Ove
The trip to Colorado was to take 50 hours. No air conditioning. Full summer with a very warm bus. The only stops along the way were refueling and quick rests. You were to stay in your seat, your home for the next 50 hours, where you were also to sleep straight up and down.
Being the last person to the bus, and every seat taken, limited the options. The friends had secured nice seats together in front. As I walked onto the bus, I saw only one seat left, midway down. The empty seat was next to a very fat white woman. As my clothes had already melted on my body due to the heat, and the street traffic in NY meant little to no sleep since arriving, I was, despite this, happier than ever, as I had made it to America. The 50-hour journey ahead was to be intense.
I walked past the fat lady, searching for another seat as I made my way to the end of the bus. But nothing was available, and I had to return to the last empty seat. I had learned to never judge anyone and slid into the seat. At 6 feet 3 and 165 pounds, the lady also took half of my seat, and I was squeezed in. She also wore a tank top and had a strong odor, which made me think she had not bathed for a long time. I felt her wet arms pushed against mine as I was squeezed in the seat, with a smell I still can feel today.
At the first stop, I ran out of the bus, offering the two Norwegians money, although I had barely enough to get by, all borrowed from relatives and family who did not believe in handouts. Both laughed so hard they were crying. I also felt like crying, but for different reasons, as I was trapped.
Desperately, minute by minute, I tried to breathe slowly, and at each stop, I looked to see if anyone was getting off the bus. For the next 25 hours, nobody left. The heat inside the bus was intense, and the lady almost pushed me out of my seat as sweat from her tank top dripped onto me. But despite this, it was the smell that was what stayed with me all these years. Now, almost 70 years later, I can time-travel back to relive the bus trip.
Christian Was taking the bus the best choice for travel?
Ove
It was cheaper and slower. I calculated time and cost. Short-term discomfort didn’t matter. Long-term flexibility did.
Christian Did it bother you?
Ove
No. Discomfort passes. Loss of options doesn’t.
Christian Did this principle extend beyond bus rides?
Ove
Early in childhood, I got my blue special-edition junior bike because of additional work that extended beyond my regular responsibilities at the farm. In my later career, I accepted 150 travel days per year for
decades because the opportunities for growth and financial returns justified the temporary discomfort.
The pattern has always been the same for me: temporary pain versus permanent gain. I never really needed much time to reflect. Instead, I acted on the opportunities in front of me.
Christian
Did you apply this in “The Glass Room,” or during projects such as Swedish Steel and similar turnarounds you were involved in for several years?
Ove
Yes. The Glass Room example: Low performer placed in transparent isolation. Discomfort for those individuals was high. But this was temporary, maybe weeks or months until they improved or left. Permanent benefit for the organization: standards maintained, culture protected, and other employees saw how the system works.
Swedish Steel: 6,000 layoffs. Discomfort was high for a short time for those affected. But the result of becoming one of the world’s most profitable steel manufacturers was achieved.
Calculation always the same for me: if permanent benefit exceeds temporary cost, I executed regardless of discomfort level. Greyhound bus at age 22 and life before this taught this, which I applied my entire life.
Christian
How did it feel to step off the bus in Colorado?
Ove
There was so much excitement, and it felt like an adventure, all about exploring. As a child, I repeatedly read Wasa-Wasa by Harry Macfie, a
book about wilderness life and survival in the Canadian north, until it became fixed in my mind.
When I stepped off the bus, the landscape was new, but the survival logic was not. I adjusted to the setting and the life ahead of me, feeling like the man I had once read about.
CHAPTER 13:
T HE YELLOW
CONVERTIBLE
Christian
When in the army, did you think about where you wanted to go afterwards?
Ove
During my time in the Air Force at age 19, while I was stationed at Gardermoen, I was waiting at a hairdresser’s one day and reading a magazine. There was a feature article about students at the University of Colorado Boulder who had exciting, good lives while driving American convertibles. The pictures and story stayed with me. I shared the magazine with my squadron.
In Norway at the time, there was car rationing, and I liked cars. I remember thinking, this is what I imagined doing: living in Boulder, being a student, and driving a convertible.
As I neared the end of my army service, I wanted to continue my higher education. I identified Schous Technical Institute in Oslo and, through the phone directory, I found the headmaster’s address. I went to his house with my application and gave it to him in person, which was not the regular way to apply. I was accepted into Schous in Oslo.
Christian
How did you end up in the US?
Ove
Not long into my studies at Schous, I learned for the first time about their program with two universities in the US: the University of Colorado Boulder and Stanford University in California. The University of Colorado Boulder was ranked among the top schools in the US for civil engineering and was my first choice.
I told the squadron of five I served with in the army, who had joined me at Schous, about the program. To be accepted, you needed to be among the top 10% after your first year in Oslo, out of 60 students. I was one of the six. Of the 5 from the squadron, 3 of them were accepted, including me.
Christian
Was there a point in life where you felt you had made it?
Ove
Working next to school in Boulder, I was able to save up money for a used car, which was a yellow Chevy convertible. I was among the top students academically in my class and became a member of the honorary society Tau Beta Pi. One day, I climbed to the top of the cafeteria building by myself, saw the prairie in the distance, and looked down at my yellow convertible. I was 22 years old. I yelled out of my lungs: I MADE IT.
Christian
Why did you feel this was the highlight in life?
Ove
I was confirmed that I controlled the narrative if I did my part for all that would come next in life. I recall the magazine article I read some years earlier about where I now was, and my father repeating, from an early age, “There is no such thing as impossible or giving up.”
Standing on the roof, I thought back to the talks with my father at the farm in Norway and the books I had read about travelling on adventures far away on the other side of the world. Now I was inside those stories. It all made total sense and was very simple. As my mother would say, input equals output.
Christian
You mention the yellow car briefly. Why?
Ove
Because it was measurable and a part of what was envisioned. Work hours, income, cost. No story needed. It either worked or it didn’t.
Christian
So, it wasn’t about success?
Ove
No. It was about verifying what happened when I stuck to the plan and never gave up.
CHAPTER
14:
PROJE CT “COLD BEER”
Christian
In addition to your technical interests, did you have other interests as a child that you could apply yourself to?
Ove
When I was 11, Knut Gribb in Detective Magazine was my favorite read, and I enjoyed solving mysteries.
Christian Why did you like it?
Ove
I was highly curious, had vivid imagination, and enjoyed challenges, especially given my father’s approach that every challenge had a solution. This meant that I needed to view the problem in a particular way and consistently apply a process-driven approach to analyze the challenge, incorporate all available data, and generate solutions.
The more I practiced, the better I became at solving crime puzzles. In a way, everything became about “reverse engineering.” It felt as if it were me against me, and I was always determined to win. It was with great pride that I wore the Knut Gribb badge for solving several crime puzzles.
Christian Do you feel nurturing this interest had any significance when you were older?
Ove Yes. Nurturing problem-solving, creativity, and mathematics provided a foundation for later professional success. Every task or work objective focused on improvement or creation was always linked to a process-driven approach seeking the best possible solution. This often meant going beyond what was evident and being willing to try new techniques.
Christian Was there one event or project that required you to think outside the box in the professional world that also would impact your later viewpoint?
Ove Yes. It was during the project “Cold Beer” in Finland during my first tenure at Asbjorn Habberstad AS, where I, in this first period, had three rapid advancements from MIM (Junior Consultant in the field), to becoming assignment leader and then project manager. A major client became Sinebrychoff, Helsinki, which was one of the oldest and largest breweries in Northern Europe, and my client on and off throughout the years.
Christian
What did your task consist of to improve the brewery’s productivity and profitability?
Ove
We followed Asbjorn Habberstad’s work model of manual time monitoring and observed the work and production process. You would use a stopwatch on the floor to track. In the case of Sinebrychoff, I would go with the trucks that delivered beer and use a stopwatch and an entry sheet with me to record everything that took place. You would do this for an extensive time.
Next, the gathered data would be analyzed using formulas and algorithms to improve cost efficiency and increase productivity. Most companies did not implement such detailed monitoring of work processes and people. In many ways, the approach was like Toyota’s lean manufacturing process, ensuring that the company’s systems and processes extended beyond people and continually improved. Several companies were run from the top down and missed what really went on.
Christian How did “Project Cold Beer” come about?
Ove
I was sitting with the Managing Director of Sinebrychoff, and, as a side note, he said he was bothered by having to make a major financial investment to build a large storage facility for beer, as the current facility no longer had the required capacity. At the same time, a recordbreaking heatwave was underway, making the situation even more critical as demand surged.
Internal rules stipulated that the beer had to be kept at a strict cold temperature for about eight weeks; any deviation was considered a risk to quality, so batches that fell outside the limits might have to be discarded. This meant it was a race for the driver to ensure the beer came from a cool storage facility at Sinebrychoff and was delivered to another cool fridge in time. This logic triggered me to ask: Why? The answer was that the brewery master adhered to the rules for storage
and temperature, as taught at the brewery school in Copenhagen— rules followed for over a century without anyone asking why.
Christian
Did you propose an idea to resolve their problem?
Ove
It came to me that if you take wine, for instance, you have fresh wine, and you go through a very steep period for the wine storage, and the quality increases up to a certain point, and after that, the increase is minimal. And I thought that could be, must be the same thing for beer.
I proposed the idea, which they first were reluctant to try as it seemed too easy and broke hundreds of years of traditions. But they did test my hypothesis, and it was correct.
Christian
Why question something that had always been done that way?
Ove
Because “always” isn’t a number. Costs and outcomes are. When those change, the method must change.
Christian Did people resist?
Ove
Yes. That’s normal.
Christian What was the result?
Ove
Sinebrychoff no longer needed to build the expensive storage facility, and storage time went from 8 weeks to 4 weeks, reducing inventory.
Christian
Was this part of your original work task?
Ove
No.
Christian How did this experience impact you?
Ove
Listening to intuition, and even if something is done or seen a certain way with long traditions, it does not necessarily make it the best or only way. Always questioning and seeing everything from the outside, free of pre-history, can be helpful.
Christian
Do you feel that your approach from an early age, even Knut Gribb, nurtured a habit of always questioning?
Ove
Yes. Knut Gribb taught me to question the obvious. At Sinebrychoff, 30 years later, the same approach continued—continually asking questions, especially when I heard “We have always done it this way,” which was a trigger to challenge hundreds of years of tradition.
“A MAN’S DEEDS FOLLOW HIM”
— NJAL’S SAGA
CHAPTER 15:
6000 L AY-OFFS WITHOUT STRIKES
Christian
What was a key thing you learned when growing up, working with your father and brothers at the farm in reference to collaboration?
Ove
Being a farmer meant you worked hands-on alongside everyone else who was hired in. The only thing that mattered was that the job got done. Everyone needed each other equally. I learned early on physical work and responsibilities.
This upbringing made me relate to every worker, regardless of level, as I saw a clockwork in which everyone was equally important, each doing different tasks. Input was equal to output. To have maximum output, collaboration was essential for survival.
Christian
You worked with many high-profile clients both domestically in the USA, Europe, and Asia. Did growing up at the farm help in this regard?
Ove
Yes. For me, it enabled me to connect at the executive and board levels with owners and directly with workers on the floor. To get quick progress and results, I would start by gaining insights from the floor, where everything took place, to gain a complete understanding and support. This bottom-up approach proved more helpful than the topdown approach. This would also enable the executive level to make decisions that stick.
Christian
Was there a project you recall where the impact of the bottom-up strategy was significant?
Ove
I feel that the ability to gain trust and relate to people across any organization was essential and relevant to every task and responsibility I took on, whether at the farm as a child or later. One case was Swedish Steel, where the Swedish state and the Wallenberg sphere were involved through their industrial interests and board influence. Asbjorn Habberstad AS was in phase one, given the task of merging three independent steel manufacturers: the Norrbotten mill in Lulea, the Oxelosund mill, and the Domnarvet mill in Borlange, which became Swedish Steel. The next phase was to assign a specialty to each entity. It was during this second phase that I became the CEO of Asbjorn Habberstad, with overall responsibility, while also serving as the project manager for one of the three entities: the Borlange mill, which made thin plate.
The first rule for these kinds of projects was to always first speak to and collaborate with the union to ensure a bottom-up strategy. Often, there was a discrepancy between top management and those on the
floor. This approach avoided any gaps. The mergers, which trimmed six thousand employees as the new entity went from eighteen thousand to twelve thousand, increased productivity and made it one of the world’s most profitable steel manufacturers, took place without union strikes. Having a good relationship and working together with the union were key to success. They were also very helpful in pinpointing what was wrong and needed fixing.
In addition, you don’t have to be a showman always in the front to claim the victory. You can actually work in the shadows and focus on results with a “we” mindset, because every victory for me has always been the result of collaborative effort, never by a single individual. When leaders tame their egos, it is far easier to succeed. The Wallenberg way, as outlined in their motto “To be, not to seem,” has always resonated with me.
Christian
You worked across and oversaw hundreds of turnarounds. In addition to the logic of manual time measure and studying the production process, using mathematics, simplifying and deleting duplicative work processes, were there any observations that stood out?
Ove
Yes. Over the years, regardless of the tools or models used, a recurring human trait emerged. In every goal-oriented task or project where the outcome was important, both “planning” and “control” were key to master.
It was a given that the best project leaders be on board, as without the right human capital, there was little to no chance of success. Beyond this, I have always seen people having an easy time coming up with great ideas and mastering the “planning” phase but often falling short on “control.”
Christian
Why do you think people struggle with this?
Ove
Many people feel the control element is discomforting if they don’t reach targets set. This misalignment people don’t think is fun. I have seen most people enjoy being creative, but the execution part is harder. In all, control is really about accountability.
Christian
Did you enjoy the control phase? And do you recall from childhood where you first learned about the importance of planning and control?
Ove
To me, the most fun part has always been the control part. This way I could always check the truth of what I was doing, plus I felt it reflected who I was: a talker or a doer.
In childhood, being part of a farm meant you learned planning and control early on. For myself and two brothers, we had responsibilities. I recall from age 12 having the responsibility for 16 cows in the summertime. This means the start of the day took place at 6 am, when I got the cows from the field, turned on their milking machines, then took them back to the field, and cleaned the barn. Then repeat the same process in the afternoon.
The control phase requires self-discipline, which is learned early on. It means you finish what you begin, or you don’t. Planning and control have always been my truth mirror. Life, to me, has primarily been about doing what I enjoy and being strong at execution.
Christian
You worked most of your career internationally. What work cultures, when working overseas, come to mind that still stay with you?
Ove
The Swedish industrial approach, the Finnish low-key style, and the American best-practice, optimistic, and welcoming culture—they all appealed to me.
As I have turned 90, I have lived and worked in various cultures, which has given me a unique perspective I would not have gotten if I had just read about them. These experiences have shaped the way I see the world. Looking back, all my experiences led to progress, even the ones with cultural surprises.
Christian Was there one incident that comes to mind?
Ove
When working with Japanese clients in the shipping industry to build freight ships, we would meet in New York. We would sit together on the floor in a square, and their favorite was eating raw fish. Coming from Norway, I found eating raw fish challenging.
But we were always polite, as the Japanese were proud of the fish, so down it went. I still recall the Japanese were so excited to see that when we finished, more would be given to us. But business was business, as we smiled politely with our hard swallows.
CHAPTER
16:
NEVE R BECOME A FARMER
Christian
Being the oldest of three brothers, you were to take over the farm after your father. How did this go?
Ove
My father’s career advice to me was to never be a farmer.
Christian
Why was he opposing this?
Ove
My father had built the farm to a considerable size through hard work and discipline. But he understood the economics. Farming tied you to land, to weather, to variables you could not control.
He wanted me to develop skills that were portable—engineering, business, systems. Skills that could scale. Plus, he saw these skills as my strength to pursue.
Christian
The Schoyen family had a tradition of owning large farms for many hundreds of years. Skjelmerud was a generational farm, and before that, your grandfather came from ”Large” Hedberg farm and your great-grandfather from Schoyen farm. Did you decide to continue the traditions?
Ove
I asked you and your sister if you were interested, and you both replied, “No.” If you had said yes, the farm would have been kept.
Christian
When did you make the final decision?
Ove
At age 40, I made the final decision not become a farmer.
Christian
Why did you not make the decision earlier?
Ove
I postponed the decision as it meant cutting ties to family traditions. And being the oldest at a farm growing up, with the birthright to take over the farm, meant a lot to me and many, as most people did not own any land.
Christian
Did you continue working at the farm after returning to Norway from the US?
Ove
Yes. I helped with my two brothers and my father at the farm, alongside my work.
After his passing, I also took the initiative to convert major parts of the forest into a harvest area; more than 100 acres were converted, as the financial return was higher than keeping the forest. This, together with the already substantial area for harvesting, placed the farm among the bigger farms in the region.
Christian
What happened to Skjelmerud?
Ove
My brother, the next-oldest, Per, kept the farm in the family, with his son later taking it over and doing an excellent job of further preserving and developing it.
Christian
Was it your father’s advice that made you decide not to become a farmer?
Ove
I remembered his words: “Never become a farmer.” He was not rejecting the discipline farming taught. He was rejecting the constraint.
But no, it was my decision. Since childhood, I had dreamed of exploring the world — which I had been doing and wanted to continue. This did not align with the life of a farmer.
I could not settle for something that did not feel right for me.
CHAPTER 17:
LAST MAN STANDING
Christian
Today, it is January 10th, and 90 years since you were born in 1936. How is your physical health?
Ove
Good overall health. Good vitality. No medications needed. I walk, though I now prefer a walking stick or support to reduce risk.
I live by myself and do my own online banking, shopping, organizing, and basic cleaning. I even drove my electric car until recently. But due to concern for others, I decided to stop driving. The county where I live gave me a small three-wheel scooter to use to go to the store. When I go, everyone waves, and I noticed that I’m the only one with the scooter.
I sleep on average 5-6 hours per night, which is the same as the rest of my life. I always had high energy.
Christian
Your height has always been 6 feet 3 inches, with a lifetime of a full set of hair. Has this remained?
Ove
My height has reduced one inch. I am now only 6 feet 2 inches, versus previous 6 feet 3 inches. My hair is still full.
Christian
How many do you know from high school, university days, or in the business community you were active in who are still alive?
Ove
To my knowledge, at 90, I’m the only one left and “last man standing.”
Christian
How have you encountered some interesting facts pertaining to the aging of your age group or peers?
Ove
Yes. I occasionally go to the nearby CC West Shopping Center, walk around, and have a coffee. I used to run into people from the business world, as I encountered many over the years. Now, I really don’t run into anyone from my age group anymore that I used to know.
A few years ago, I heard about four very well-known business leaders who everyone knew about in the eighties from the press, running big companies, who I knew then and who were then in the same wing of an old people’s nursing home, two with dementia and one with Alzheimer’s, I believe. Not sure if any of them are still living. It was interesting that they all statistically ended up in the same wing, as they were all amongst the most well-known profiles at one point.
Christian
Have you ever had any sicknesses or other health issues?
Ove
I have never had sickness or issues with my heart or other organs. The only incident was an almost rupture of the appendix in 1985. I was glad this happened.
Christian
Why was this appendix incident a good thing?
Ove
After a business trip to Los Angeles, I arrived back in Norway after the 15-hour journey, went to sleep, and felt a growing pain in my stomach. The pain increased to the point that I was unable to get out of bed. I told my then-wife that I needed help. She said I was feeling selfpity, and I would be fine. As pain continued, becoming unbearable, I crawled to the phone and got a taxi to the hospital.
Making it to the emergency, after check-in, they told me I was just hours away from it rupturing and becoming a deadly situation. Then the next morning, the second patient in the room moved out. When I asked the doctor, the patient said he did not want to be in the same room as a dying man, as my breathing stopped for long, extensive time periods.
A sleep monitor next detected severe sleep apnea. The doctor told me that if my severe sleep apnea had remained untreated, my life expectancy could have been reduced by around 10 years. I was then 49 years old.
Christian
Is your vitality of no sickness due to a healthy lifespan, with plenty of exercise and no alcohol?
Ove
Not in later life. I was very active as a child, but no rigorous training except walks and skiing into my late age, which meant both cross-
country and downhill skiing. I also did some sailing, played tennis, but all in moderation, never on a fixed schedule.
For alcohol, more than the average person. I have always enjoyed good vodka, gin, and whiskey, plus beer in my younger days. But always in balance, so it never negatively interfered with work or life.
In addition, I smoked 30 Marlboro cigarettes per day from age 18 to age 60. Years before, I reflected on cancer becoming an outcome of my smoking habit. I then one day just decided to stop, and I never had a cigarette since. The doctor did a lung scan after 12 months and found no traces of me ever having smoked.
Christian
What about your food diet?
Ove
I have eaten the same food since childhood, and I have never broken the routine of breakfast with muesli, with yoghurt on top. For dinner, I have always enjoyed fish and occasionally a good steak. I have never been into fast food.
Christian
Do you feel that you lived with a lot of stress?
Ove
No. I have never really felt stress. To me, emotional worry about something seldom changes the outcome, and has not been necessary for me.
Christian
Do you think it is your genetics that enables you to be the last man standing with no health issues for a lifetime and having full vitality at age 90?
Ove
My family is known to live to an old age.
Christian
Have you observed something interesting about the aging process you did not realize before becoming older?
Ove
Aging is not linear. Age 85 to 86, it was a small change versus age 89 to 90: acceleration visible with steeper decline curve as the pattern, despite me with full vitality now at 90.
Christian
You have never talked about “purpose” or used the word “inspired,” but instead used “exciting challenges,” and you have never complained and have always been happy 365 days per year. Are these items interlinked?
Ove
I never really think about these things, as I just do, going all in, rather than thinking.
And for happiness, the question for me is more about: what is not to be happy about? Life has been and is very exciting, where it has been up to me what to make out of it, and I’m very glad that I took every opportunity coming my way. It’s a life with full alignment.
Christian
Does death or end scare you?
Ove No.
Christian
Why is there no fear?
If you are dead, you don’t know it yourself. For me, I’m aligned with the Man in the Mirror, having lived a full life with zero regrets. In my family, we are also known to die quickly, it’s not a dragged-out process.
When the day comes, it comes. I’m always about the moment, which has always been what mattered.
CHAPTER 18:
I LOV E YOU
Christian
When did your parents pass, and what happened?
Ove
My father, Trygve, died years after my return from the US. He died at Ahus in 1973, while I was in a work meeting in Stavanger that day when I got the call. He used blood thinners due to thick veins. One day, working in the forest cutting timber, he had forgotten his nitroglycerin and had a heart attack. My uncle Alexander, his brother, took him to the hospital. During his stay, due to the night watch falling asleep and not getting the meds to him, he died that night. My father was then 69 years old, and I was 37.
My mother Dagveig, who was a nurse, died at age 52. I was 19, and in the Air Force when I received the message. We had our food stored in a cold freezer at a storage facility at Klofta Center. She was with my 10-year-younger brother Dag, who was 9, when she died. It was the summer of 1955. There was a record heat of 30 degrees Celsius
(86°F), and the freezer was at -25 degrees Celsius (−13°F). The work between the cold and heat was too hard on her heart, which stopped.
Christian
Did you emotionally communicate with your father when growing up?
Ove
His strong care for his family was implicit, so words were unnecessary.
But in 1973, the last time I saw him, which was one week before he died, I said, “I love you” to him. He froze, as these were not words spoken. He was a man of few words. I did not need a reply, as his care was evident in his actions.
Christian
What did your two brothers do as you were the first to leave the farm?
Ove
I left for the USA to become a civil engineer at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Next to leave was the next-oldest, my three-yearyounger brother Per, who went on to become a civil engineer at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland, before moving to Canada to live and work.
My youngest brother, Dag, who was 10 years younger than me, earned his technical degree in Sweden before working in Canada. Later in life, he also earned his master’s degree in business. Both continued in leadership roles domestically and overseas.
Christian
Was there anything in particular that you recall from the time leaving the farm for the USA?
Ove
Yes. It was my then-12-year-old brother, Dag, who was left at the farm with my father of few words, as my mother had passed. He was 4 years
later, standing at the docks in Oslo with my father to pick me up from my stay in the US.
That he succeeded professionally in life as he did impressed me. When I asked him once about his MBA, he said that his two brothers were civil engineers, so he could not be any lesser.
Christian
For your near family, two children, was professional life with many years, with up to 150 international travel days, preventing a regular life? In all, more than 500 flights while they grew up.
Ove
No. Holidays were spent travelling together many times to the US or to places in Europe, or to the summer place in Norway, or to the winter place in the mountains.
Plus, when you and your sister could, you joined me on business trips or came to the office with me. We would go downhill skiing together in Norway and take several trips to the Alps.
Christian Was it always planned trips?
Ove
No. There were times, such as when we would ski in Norway, and I would ask you, on the spur of the moment, if you wanted to go to the Alps the next day, in the middle of your winter school year. And I would find tickets, call the teacher, and the next day we would go on a week’s trip to the Alps.
Christian How was this possible workwise?
Ove
In every management role, I would always ensure that the best management team was in place. As I never needed to be the showman, my only objective was always to achieve results. This helped me, at times, just to be able to take off like I did with my son, even though it wasn’t the norm, as I enjoyed work and put a lot of hours in.
Christian
Did that make leaving a company and a role easier?
Ove
Yes. Because everything was already in place for the transition.
Christian
Did you bring anything with you from childhood in reference to your experience with losing your parents?
Ove
Yes. Each time I say goodbye, I do so as if it is the last time, as one day it will be. My mother’s words—”You are going to die”—always stay with me.
I use the words “I love you” on every departure with you and your sister, as I did once with my father one week before he unexpectedly died.
“FEAR NOT DEATH FOR THE HOUR OF YOUR DOOM IS SET AND NONE MAY ESCAPE IT”.
~ VÖLSUNGA SAGA
BUSINE SS NEEDS TO GO ON
Christian
During your time in the work world, was there a key theme that followed you over the years?
Ove
Yes. That we are all “replaceable.” In leadership roles, I always worked on creating a succession plan early on, in a way, “a brick in the head” system, which meant that if something happened to me, the business or my area of responsibility would go on as usual, with minimal disruption.
I felt that if an organization depended on a single person and lacked a contingency plan, it was fragile.
Christian
Were there any incidents you experienced that stayed with you regarding “Business needs to go on”?
Ove
Throughout my career, I witnessed multiple instances of the need to replace managers who were not suitable for their organizations. This was also part of my job as an executive search consultant. In addition, there were unplanned, unforeseen incidents.
Two incidents stayed with me. One was from when I worked for the Norwegian shipping magnate Wilhelm Wilhelmsen. My task was to recruit key managerial roles for him. After recruiting three key positions, shortly after, in September 1989, the entire management team was going on the same plane, killing all 50 passengers in a crash, including the entire two levels of Wilhelmsen Management.
My first reflection was to instantly call the three candidates I had just placed, as I was worried about them. None of them had yet started in their roles and were not on the plane. For the shipping company to not falter despite the tragedy, new replacements had to be rapidly recruited to ensure that the business could go on.
The second incident occurred while working for a large Norwegian wholesale and distribution company: I was helping recruit an executive for their subsidiary company on the west coast. Together with the VP of distribution in Oslo, we sat in a conference room to finalize the job profile. We needed additional information from the local manager on the West Coast. The call was made. The local manager was driving the car, he told us. After a brief talk, he said into the speakerphone, “I’m losing control of the car.” These were his last words as the car went off the road into a lake, where he drowned. We were left in the conference room, sitting in silence. Days later, after the tragedy, my responsibility was now expanded to find a replacement for the manager who died in the tragedy I had spoken to earlier.
Christian
What did you like the most with your work, regardless of company and task?
Ove
I enjoyed seeing progress and being challenged, whether for the company or for me, as it meant going forward.
Christian
In your lifetime, you have always made major personal changes after a certain period of time. Why was this?
Ove
Every organization needs renewal and new ideas, just as people need upskilling to contribute. For most roles, I think a person can, at some point, no longer add as much value if the knowledge starts to become recycled. I think it is important to add new thoughts, new ideas, and new experiences.
Individually, for me, it has always been about facing new challenges, as friction, together with hard work and consistency, has led to progress. At Asbjorn Habberstad AS, which was during my time the largest management consultant company, also bigger than McKinsey at that time, and when they offered me the role as CEO, I had them write that the time period was to be no longer than 6 years. This became the date I left, despite the offer of renewal. This was due to my philosophy that future contributions would not be as great.
New ideas were essential, plus I saw no interest in repeating the loop of something that I had already successfully done. I took the same approach when serving on boards of directors, with the view that people should have an expiry date, as it is not in the organization’s interest to be stuck with old thinking in a fast-changing world. Businesses always need to go on and upwards to stay relevant and competitive.
Christian Was there ever a job that you did not enjoy?
Ove
No. I enjoyed every job that I ever had, from the farm to headhunting at age 80. I think it’s linked to feeling useful, being productive, applying myself.
Christian Have you ever worried about not being useful?
Ove
No. My work ethic from the farm, interest to learn and improve, always meant there was a need for me.
Christian Did you struggle to find a job after graduating from college in the US?
Ove
No. I applied to the top five companies I wanted to work for. I had five job offers, from the East Coast to the West Coast. I chose Guy F. Atkinson Company in San Francisco, one of the largest construction companies in the United States, known for building power plants, bridges, and roads.
Christian
Has this always been the pattern for how you got good opportunities?
Ove
I think it has been mostly, if not all, about doing the best out of every chance I was given, regardless of what it was. Plus, I feel that always focusing on skill-building was helpful.
In most jobs I had, I spent my spare time advancing. At Guy F. Atkinson Company, I studied advanced mathematics in the evenings after work at the local university, as I both found it very interesting, and it helped me to excel. This was something I would do regardless of the role I had, to find ways to become better. To me, it has always been about input equals output.
CHAPTER 20:
THE MA N IN THE MIRROR
Christian
What part of Norway did your father come from, and from what setting did he grow up under?
Ove
My father, Trygve, was one of 11 brothers and sisters, all of whom were tradesmen, except my father and uncle, who owned Skjelmerud, the farm, which had stayed in the family for generations. Their father, Aslak, came from the large farm called “Large Hedberg.” Aslak’s father, Peder, had acquired Hedberg after leaving Schoyen farm at Disenaa, where my great-great-grandfather was one of the biggest forest owners in Norway, with his peak in the 1700s.
Because of its size, the farm would be subdivided over the next century into more than 200 farms, and in 1863, the Schoyen farm was sold to Colonel Pran. According to what I learned, this generation worked hard and played hard.
Prior to the Schoyen farm, the buildup occurred over an extended period by lending out money to small farmers who defaulted, using their land as collateral. In the centuries following the Viking era, this is how some became big landowners. Peder Schoyen from Schoyen farm also served as an elector in 1814, participating in the selection of the representatives who gathered at Eidsvoll to craft Norway’s Constitution and establish the nation as an independent union.
Christian
What part of Norway did your mother come from, and in what setting did she grow up?
Ove
My mother came from the Skancke family, with a background like my father’s: centuries of ambitious tradesmen and landowners.
Christian
Going far back, as Norway has strong traditions to the Viking era, what is the pre-history of your family?
Ove
I was later informed that the family’s roots trace back to the Vikings and to King Gudrod Ragnvaldsson, the Viking ruler of the Isle of Man. His great-great-grandfather, Viking King Godred Crovan, ruled Dublin, a key center of the western Viking expansion and trade.
For the Vikings, being in lineage is interesting. But it is also a wellknown fact that the Vikings, or the so-called Norsemen, mixed with others, and the name was used more for a clan to survive than for a bloodline. Further, going back to the very beginning, it is ironically stated that half of Norway is related to Harald Haarfagre. For me, like the Vikings, it’s simple: it’s about aligning with one’s Man in the Mirror, which is different for everyone, as there is no right or wrong.
Christian
Was the family history important to you?
Ove
More from my own factual point, it is interesting, but nothing more. I have never shared or needed validation from others for what my ancestors did or did not do. The only framework has always been the here and now and how I applied my allotted time in life.
Also, from a farm setting, there are no entitlements, only about your contribution that day, that week. You don’t share the info about your ancestry or family to outsiders as it would reflect negatively on you and show a flaw in your character.
A family’s peak is often only for a generation before the next ones destroy it, as it is all very personal. It is always fun to hear stories of the past, but the only thing that has mattered to me is what you do. If your life story matches family history. then you are aligned with its ethos, but again, a name by itself is worthless unless the life lived matches up to it.
Christian
Do you feel growing up in a setting of scholars, landowners, tradesmen influenced you?
Ove
Yes. Being around hard workers, and learning of the past, and early on seeing that what you put in is what you get out, and an environment of everything being possible despite a no-handout policy, fostered me with a strong self-belief in my abilities and a never-give-up approach.
Christian
Was there anything in particular you heard from parents that stayed with you about your ancestors?
Ove
Yes. They kept saying that if one spoke of the family’s achievements to others, this reflected poorly on me, showing a flawed character, as
it meant I was not strong enough by my own. This made me learn early on that this translated into bragging, in the same way as namedropping, to validate yourself.
Christian
Is your lifelong interest in the Vikings related to your own family ancestry or other?
Ove
For the Vikings, being in lineage is interesting. The Vikings’ logic, I always felt, is similar to my own: it’s all about alignment, not about what others do or think. It’s all about action.
Christian
Is it correct to say that the link to the Schoyen family of the past, and for the Vikings, it’s not so much about bloodline, but about a fixed logic followed, leading to a specific outcome, which then goes beyond Schoyen and Viking?
Ove
Yes. This is correct, translated simply as whether you are aligned with your Man in the Mirror.
Christian You often talk about the mirror. When did it become important?
Ove
From an early age. It was about seeing myself truly, never through others’ eyes. This meant never lying to myself; if I could not even trust myself, it would lead to a non-aligned, troubled life and prevent me from achieving my dreams.
For me, it was always easier to be truthful to the Man in the Mirror, even if painful at times. This was the only person I had to align with, which I did from a very young age. He never left.
“A MANS’S OWN HAND IS MOST TO BE TRUSTED”
— HÁVAMÁL
CHAPTER 21:
EV ERYTHING IS MATHEMATICS
Christian
You have said multiple times that everything is mathematics. Where did this come from?
Ove
From early on. My mother used to say it, but I also saw it myself on the farm. You plant a certain number of seeds; you get a particular harvest if the weather and work are right. If you milk 16 cows twice a day, you get a certain amount of milk. You spend a certain number of hours clearing land, and you gain a certain number of acres. Input equals output. Nothing more, nothing less. It was simple, visible every day.
Next, almost everything can be explained with mathematics. When you measure something, whether time versus efficiency, these quantifiables, when entered into equations, give the picture of a situation. The
more I studied, the better I did. All was measurable, interlinked, and explainable.
I have also consistently applied a process-driven mindset to everything I have done. This way, I can always dissect a chain of events or a workflow and backtrack to the strong and weak parts to make adjustments if needed, or simply for understanding.
Christian
How did you experience mathematics later in life after college?
Ove
When becoming a civil engineer specializing in structural and building engineering, a key rule is that structures don’t negotiate. They either stand or they fail. Mathematics is how you know which one will happen before you build.
In San Francisco, I got to apply the principles I learned in university across all roles, including serving as a project manager for a bridge and road project. I also had an assignment to design access roads to the Tagus River Bridge in Lisbon, which at the time was a relatively large suspension bridge project. Later in Norway, I became the project manager for building bridges in the Aalesund area, with, among other things, responsibility for the Remoy Bridge in Heroy. Mathematics is the application. Forces, loads, moments, stability, fatigue, safety margins. Without mathematics, you are just guessing.
Christian
How did mathematics apply when working in the corporate world after your time in engineering?
Ove
At Asbjorn Habberstad AS, it was all about timing, measurement, and mathematics, and using algorithms to identify alternative, more productive, and profitable ways to do things. Same way with a business
annual report, which is all based on mathematics, as everything is always interlinked, whether human capital or the ways things are done.
Christian
Do you feel mathematics also applies to life outside of work?
Ove
Yes, in most instances it does. If there is something you desire, you need to understand the financial picture of achieving it and create a plan. But as people have an easier time planning than the control part, which is accountability, I see many struggle with the execution, despite understanding the mathematical element.
Christian
Do you think everything is measurable?
Ove
Yes, in most cases it is possible to measure, and this way, from a number perspective, see the objective status, which makes decisionmaking easier.
I would always rank myself from 1 to 3 across various areas of life, with 1 being not good, 2 being ok, and 3 being good. I did not write it down; I did it automatically. And with life and its various parts, everything is interlinked, so I always tried to make sure I did not score a 1, which would have reflected dissatisfaction.
Christian
After working on the family farm in childhood, then almost three decades at larger companies, and finally three decades in executive search and board roles, did you feel math helped evaluate people?
Ove
Yes. When watching people’s performance, I noticed it was linked to their personal operating system (OS) and track record; when watching
others, I always saw patterns, as change is difficult. When connected to the results they achieved, it was straightforward to assess their gross and net financial contributions and to make forecasts based on this.
Christian
Are there other parts you feel mathematics apply?
Ove
In health, I continually monitor my blood pressure, and in the body, just like a company’s financial report, everything is interlinked: weight with diet, exercise, and so on.
Christian
What is the most challenging with mathematics?
Ove
To see and understand all the interlinks among the various variables and algorithms, and how everything links together within a processdriven mindset. This is also the exciting part, as when you see the patterns and how different parts of a situation affect the total, is very exciting, as it also gives you a chance to alter outcomes.
I have also always done a second guess with mathematics after a calculation has been made. I call this the first principal test, which means asking myself, “Do the numbers from a logical perspective make sense?”.
Christian
Some outcomes are fixed and have no variables, such as death.
Ove
Yes. This is the only certainty in the algorithm of life. For the rest, it is input equals output, and inside many equations, whether external or internal ones, that all have inner links.
Christian
Do emotions interfere with the human algorithm?
Ove
Decisions become harder, such as deciding not to take over the family farm, stalling the decision-making process. This was linked to family history and remembrance of what it meant to be a landowner in previous generations.
When I went to high school at Vahl in Oslo, I was the only one from a farm, as many then did not even own their own homes. This gave me respect, but later I realized it was given for something that was not mine and, technically, not about me directly. Also, financially, it made more sense not pursue farm life. Except for this incident, I have been able to make rational decisions without long lags.
Christian
Can everything be measured?
Ove
In my experience, almost anything can be measured; when it can’t, I have established a scaling system.
Christian
What is the main reason that you like mathematics?
Ove
By applying mathematics, you can build, whether constructions or businesses, and quickly gain an understanding of a situation. Understanding takes away uncertainty but is linked to being good at control. This has given me better certainty of outcomes if mathematics had not been applied.
But there are many layers within, such as the earlier mention of measuring time, which alone is not enough, as the intensity within
time varies from one person to another. Some have clearer signals than others and different outputs. I do like numbers and mathematics, as they are neutral and free from opinions and arguments, and they represent a truth without too many arguments.
Christian
How would you summarize a life within this framework?
Ove
For me, it has been about alignment. A sequence of decisions under constraint. Evaluated over time.
Christian Do you believe in randomness?
Ove
At small scales, yes. Over time, patterns dominate.
Christian
Is this why you say everything is mathematics?
Ove
Yes. Not because life is cold. But because it is structured.
Christian No story?
Ove
Stories are optional.
Christian No meaning?
Ove
Meaning is something people add afterward.
Christian
What remains when you remove story and meaning?
Ove
What you did. What you tolerated. What you repeated.
Christian
And that is the calculation?
Ove Yes.
Christian
Is that why you say the Man in the Mirror is the only judge?
Ove
Because that is the only place where the full calculation is visible. Regardless of your dreams versus reality, there is no escape. You are aligned or not aligned.
Christian
So, in the end, everything reduces to this?
Ove
Input. Choice. Constraint. Time. Output with or without being aligned. There is no right or wrong, as this is up to each one.
Christian
And that is mathematics?
Ove Yes. That is mathematics.
Christian
You mentioned watching Ben Fogle’s TV documentary “New Lives in the Wild,” about a former fighter pilot who led an interesting life and dug his own grave despite being happy and healthy. Why did you find this interesting?
Ove
I found it unusual for people to peacefully come to terms with what awaits them, the end, and like this man sitting at his grave peacefully reflecting. I have never seen this before, and it reminded me of the Vikings’ self-awareness and fearless take on life, with nothing to lose by going all-in.
Christian
Was it all worth it?
Ove
Every day.
Christian
How do you see your exit?
Ove
A Viking ship burning like in ancient times.
Christian What remains?
Ove
The Algorithm
