Risk Mitigation Through Focus

"My personal experiences with borrowing have greatly taught me in this regard. For example, we do not believe that a chain-linked company group reduces risk, such as forest+saw+joinery, but rather that the risk obviously becomes higher with great dependence on a single industry area. We do not want to take particularly high risks. We want to be sure to be able to preserve our traditionally shaped ownership where we feel at home and where we have the portraits of our ancestors looking at us from the walls."

"It took a few years before Securitas was ready to step outside Sweden, due to the fact that the operations were not sufficiently focused on security, the services not sufficiently defined, and the management not well synchronized but rather uneven in terms of competence for, among other things, foreign expansion. It also took quite some time before Assa Abloy, our global lock company, was in shape for internationalization, as well as the lighting company Fagerhult and the consulting company Sweco in infrastructure and urban planning."

"It constantly surprises me to what extent many companies waste energy on things that are vaguely connected to the company's core business. Behaviors are allowed to grow and become approaches, hierarchies, working methods, mindsets, and finally a culture that has a far too loose connection to the company's purpose, the production of benefits for buyers that ensures long-term survival. At Latour, we systematically strive with mostly gentle guidance to steer our companies towards effective organizations that lead to focus and frugality with scarce resources."