Nice to meet you, Sten! Could you start by telling us a little about your background and how your career eventually brought you to Mantec?
I hold an MSc in Engineering with a specialization in Operations Engineering, focusing on production and production planning. My first roles were in procurement and production planning, where I also developed a strong interest in continuous improvement.
I later completed a Diploma in Leadership, because that work taught me that successful change is mostly about people, behaviours, and leadership — not only technical solutions. I would say that around 80% of successful change is about people and only 20% about the technical side.
You are one of the most experienced consultants in the Danish Mantec team. What has kept consulting – and Mantec – interesting for you over the years?
What has kept consulting interesting for me is the combination of good colleagues, variety, and the opportunity to create real improvements together with clients. I enjoy working closely with people and helping companies become better at running their business.
There are always new colleagues, new clients and new challenges. You also need to be creative, because there is no single formula for solving the problems we encounter. That creativity is an important part of being successful as a consultant. You need to really get under the skin of the customer and understand the organisation if you want to help change the way people think and work.
Mantec has remained interesting because it is a trust-based organisation where there is room to think creatively. We have standard ways of working and proven methodologies, but at the same time, we have a lot of freedom in how we help our clients. That combination of structure, trust and freedom is one of the reasons I have stayed for so long.
Having worked with many different companies and industries, what have you learned about what really makes an operational improvement project successful?
Creating a successful change starts with understanding the company’s culture and gaining insight into its real day-to-day challenges. You have to meet people where they are and understand their mindset.
Once you have that understanding, it is important to ensure that employees and their managers share the same view of the situation. Sometimes they already recognise the challenges, while in other cases it takes time to align perceptions. You need to be patient, but at the same time keep things moving forward.
When there is a common understanding of the problem, you can begin developing solutions together.
One project that stands out involved a company introducing 5S across several departments. What made the difference was not the methodology itself, but the fact that employees were actively involved in identifying waste, improving their work areas, and agreeing on new standards. That created ownership and made the improvements sustainable long after the workshops had ended. We still have a very good relationship with the management team today.
When you enter a new client organisation, what are the first things you pay attention to? What tells you where the real improvement potential might be?
I start paying attention from the moment I enter the organisation. How is the atmosphere? How do people talk to each other? How do meetings start — do people arrive on time? Even something as simple as how people keep their desks can tell you something about the culture. It is often in the small details.
The first thing I pay attention to is how people work together in practice compared to how processes are described on paper. I spend a lot of time talking to employees and observing daily operations.
After many years in consulting, I have learned that the biggest opportunities are often found in the gap between what management believes is happening and what actually happens on the shop floor. Most managers naturally have an idea of what is happening, but we go much deeper. We follow employees in their daily work, get to know them and encourage them to talk about what their working day actually looks like. Do they have the right tools? Do they have the information they need to do their jobs effectively?
At first, people can be a little suspicious when someone comes in to observe their work. I explain that we are there to understand what actually happens, not to judge them. After an hour or so, people usually relax and start behaving as they normally would.
Being an independent third party can also make these conversations easier. People may sometimes tell us things that are difficult to raise internally.
Mantec is known for focusing strongly on implementation rather than recommendations alone. What does successful implementation look like from a Project Manager’s perspective?
Successful implementation is not when a project is delivered. It is when the organisation achieves the intended results and can sustain them after we have left. That requires adoption in daily operations, measurable progress, and clear ownership from both managers and employees.
Financial results are always an important part of our projects. We agree with the client on how the financial impact will be measured and follow the results on a weekly basis. At the same time, we work with the softer side of change. Managers and employees need to see the value of what we are doing and adopt the new ways of working.
For me, the test is simple: six months later, are the improvements still creating value? If yes, the implementation was successful.
Sometimes we go back and conduct a small review, and it is always rewarding to see that the tools are still being used. In one case, a company asked to reintroduce a Mantec tool we had implemented around 15 years earlier. It had been discontinued following a change in ownership, but the managers still remembered its value and wanted it back. That is a strong sign that the work has made a lasting impact.
In your experience, why do some organisations find it easier to turn plans into action than others?
Organisations that execute well have clear accountability, fast decisions, and strong management discipline. They focus on a few priorities and turn meetings into actions, owners, and deadlines.
A lot also depends on how committed the management is. You cannot always predict at the beginning which organisations will be the best at sustaining change. The situation can develop during the project as people become involved, see the results and start taking greater ownership.
What role do managers and employees play in making improvements sustainable after the project has ended?
In my experience, sustainable improvements depend on both managers and employees. Managers need to set direction, create accountability, and keep following up after the project has ended.
A lot comes down to the mindset of the managers. They need to stay true to what has been developed together and continue using the management systems and tools that have been put in place. If management keeps the engine running, the new ways of working have a much better chance of lasting. Employees follow the example set by their managers.
Employees are equally important, because they make the improvements work in daily operations. Lasting change happens when managers take ownership and employees feel involved and responsible for making the new way of working part of everyday life.
After many years in consulting, are there things you approach differently today than you did earlier in your career?
Earlier in my career, I focused heavily on analysis and the perfect solution. Today, I focus more on implementation, ownership, and buy-in — because even the best solution has little value if people do not adopt it.
I have also become more patient. I understand much better today that ownership from managers and employees is one of the most important factors in creating lasting change. You cannot simply give people the answer; they need to become part of the solution.
That has made me more pragmatic and more focused on execution and lasting results.
Is there a particular type of challenge or situation where you feel your experience makes the biggest difference for the client?
The biggest difference is often in situations where a company knows it has a problem but struggles to identify the real root cause.
After 17 years in consulting, I can often recognise patterns quickly, separate symptoms from causes, and help organisations focus on what will actually create results.
I add the most value when performance is below expectations, costs are too high, productivity is too low, or an improvement programme has stalled. But for the company to get the greatest possible value and impact from our work, gaining the trust of management is essential.
What is still capable of surprising you in client projects – even after all these years?
What still surprises me is how often managers overlook continuous improvement in the small, everyday things. Companies may focus a lot of attention on major projects — implementing a new IT system, for example — while the smaller improvement loops and daily follow-up receive much less attention.
Those small details matter. Continuous improvement requires remembering to follow up, make small adjustments and keep questioning the routines that have become normal over time.
It also still surprises me how often the real problem is not the one management initially believes it is. Many organisations spend energy treating symptoms, while significant improvement potential remains hidden in daily routines that nobody questions anymore.
On the positive side, results can come quickly when people align around a common goal, clarify accountability, and execute consistently.
What do you personally find most rewarding about seeing a transformation through from analysis to measurable results?
What I find most rewarding is seeing the organisation achieve results that are still there after the project has ended.
Delivering the financial results is important, but so is the trust you build with the organisation. Sometimes, years after a project has ended, we speak with the client again and discover that they are even happier with the results than I had imagined.
I tend to be very critical of my own work — and I think a certain amount of self-reflection is important in consulting — so hearing that the impact has lasted can be particularly rewarding.
It is also very rewarding to stay in touch with managers and coordinators and see that they feel we have helped improve the way they work. I once received a thank-you letter from a coordinator two or three years after a project. He told me that I had changed the way he approached continuous improvement and the way he worked. Moments like that stay with you.
Consulting often means working closely with clients and colleagues for long periods of time. What do you value most in the people you work with?
What I value most is honesty, ownership, and the courage to speak openly about what is working — and what is not. Trust becomes very important when you work closely together over a long period of time.
I appreciate people who are open-minded and able to speak honestly. Nobody is perfect. What matters is being able to acknowledge things openly and deal with them constructively.
I enjoy working with people who are straightforward, curious, and willing to challenge the status quo in a constructive way. I also value pragmatism — taking action, learning, and adjusting along the way.
And finally, what keeps you energised outside work? What do you enjoy doing when you are not working on client projects?
Outside work, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, staying active, spending time in nature, and riding my race bike.
We moved into a new home some time ago, and at the moment I spend quite a lot of my free time renovating the house. I really enjoy doing practical work myself, from painting to masonry.
I am also a Freemason, which gives me the opportunity to meet people from different backgrounds and reflect on values such as integrity, personal development, and contributing positively to society.
What keeps me energised is learning new things, meeting interesting people, and seeing progress — in business, in people, and in myself.
