We create positive change by connecting separate worlds. Can’t think of a better reason to be in business.
Combining perspectives from different places – identifing strategies, positions and ideas that may surprise you
Analyses and Insights. What we read and write, share and think about
Case Interview – Thomas Børve, Kvadrant: On Growth, Autonomy, and the Decision to Join Something Larger
Danish consulting firms are increasingly joining global organisations – not because they lack capability, but because clients now demand broader reach, implementation capacity, and technological depth. Kvadrant’s decision to join Elixirr reflects this shift. But beneath the logic of scale lies a more delicate challenge: how to expand capabilities without losing the organisational qualities that created value in the first place. What is being integrated is not only expertise, but a way of working shaped by proximity to clients, fast decision-making, and local autonomy. As firms become part of larger international structures, a new tension emerges between standardisation and independence. The question is not only how organisations grow – but whether they can remain distinct while becoming part of something larger.
The executive suite is closed territory for the communicator – that is where responsibility is taken
In this Kommunikationsforum column, Kresten Schultz Jørgensen argues that the absence of communication executives from top management is not an oversight, but a consequence. Despite the profession’s claim to own trust and legitimacy, it rarely holds decision-making authority where it matters most.
He points to a structural weakness: a field without clear mandate or monopoly tends to operate in generalities that fall short of real business accountability. Executive teams, by contrast, are defined by responsibility for choices and their consequences.
The conclusion is clear: communication must either take co-responsibility for decisions on operations, capital and risk – or accept its role as an external corrective. Only one leads to a seat at the table.
I can unfortunately recognize it” – three profiles assess the communications archetype
In a Kforum interview, Kresten Schultz Jørgensen joins two other senior communication leaders to reflect on a recent study of the “communications archetype,” noting that he recognises many of the patterns described.
He points to a role defined by constant movement across the organisation: many touchpoints, many meetings, and a continuous orientation towards the outside world. This position also creates visibility into new opportunities, helping explain a relatively high job mobility. At the same time, he highlights how communication’s coordinating function places it close to leadership – making the step towards managerial roles a natural extension.
He also offers a fifth characteristic: communicators are highly externally oriented, constantly reading their surroundings, trends and reactions. The picture that emerges is a profession shaped by reach, responsiveness and proximity to decision-making.
Welcome to Tom & Kresten
An intellectual cushion room for those who care about communication – or are simply curious about the world.
Every month, two seasoned advisors meet at the mic to unpack what lies beneath the messages of the moment: big ideas, subtle trends, and timeless thinking.
We meet once a month. And we promise: it’s never boring. Just necessary. Tune in – and think along.
Episode 1: Kort og terræn
Episode 1: Kort og terræn
Podcast Launch: Tom & Kresten
We have launched the podcast Tom & Kresten – a new conversational space about a world in flux, leadership under pressure, and the growing sense that the terrain is beginning to move faster than the maps designed to navigate it.
Together with Tom Bue – a seasoned radio and media personality from Northern Jutland and a long-time observer of people, power, and media dynamics – Kresten Schultz Jørgensen explores the shifts currently shaping public discourse, institutions, and organisations.
The conversations revolve around geopolitics, technology, narratives, legitimacy, leadership, and media. But also about doubt, judgement, and the art of finding orientation while the world order improvises in real time.
The format is intentionally more clubhouse than channel. An intellectual sanctuary for people who may not lack information – but perhaps miss perspective, direction, and meaningful conversations without PowerPoint and panic.
And yes: there are quizzes. There are tangents. There is seriousness. And, occasionally, a surprising amount of Northern Jutland woven into it all.
The podcast is now available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
When Danish Firms Are Acquired: Leadership Between Meaning, Power, and Possibility
Danish advisory and knowledge firms are increasingly becoming part of global organisations. Often, the rationale is framed in terms of growth, access, and scale. But something more complex is unfolding beneath that surface. What is being brought into these structures are not only competencies, but distinct ways of organising work – grounded in professional judgement, trust, and relatively low hierarchy. As these firms are integrated, a new space emerges between local practice and global coordination. This space holds both potential and risk. The question is how it is led. What is at stake is not only performance, but whether the qualities that made these firms attractive can continue to shape what they become.
Case Interview – Thomas Børve, Kvadrant: On Growth, Autonomy, and the Decision to Join Something Larger
Danish consulting firms are increasingly joining global organisations – not because they lack capability, but because clients now demand broader reach, implementation capacity, and technological depth. Kvadrant’s decision to join Elixirr reflects this shift. But beneath the logic of scale lies a more delicate challenge: how to expand capabilities without losing the organisational qualities that created value in the first place. What is being integrated is not only expertise, but a way of working shaped by proximity to clients, fast decision-making, and local autonomy. As firms become part of larger international structures, a new tension emerges between standardisation and independence. The question is not only how organisations grow – but whether they can remain distinct while becoming part of something larger.
AI Is Not a Technological Revolution. It Is a Leadership Revolution.
Artificial intelligence is often discussed as a technological breakthrough: faster analysis, new tools, more efficient production of knowledge. But in many professional organisations, the deeper shift concerns the structure of knowledge work itself. For decades, value has been tied to the production of knowledge – research, briefs, analyses, strategies. AI now performs large parts of this work with remarkable speed. As a result, the centre of gravity begins to move. Less toward producing information, more toward exercising judgement. The real question is no longer who can write the most or the fastest, but who can ask the right questions and take responsibility for the conclusions that follow. And that changes the role of leadership.
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Our services are not a window of prototype products:
We see who you are, your potential and probably also your limitations. We challenge you by connecting wisdom from politics, business and culture.
And then we find what you truly need.
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Featured podcasts
Media, Power and Provocation on Q&CO
In conversation with Henrik Qvortrup, Kresten Schultz Jørgensen tackles media responsibility, image ethics, and the price of silence.
Media, Power and Provocation on Q&CO
Leadership Nuances Unpacked
Grateful to Børsen for a thoughtful panel on leadership, from loyalty to personal branding, with insights from top experts Claus Richter and Pernille Steen Pedersen and Kresten from SJ&K.
Leadership Nuances Unpacked
Was it cynical spin when the owning family behind Nordic Waste finally broke their silence?
Was it cynical spin when the owning family behind Nordic Waste finally broke their silence? Kresten comments in this podcast.
Was it cynical spin when the owning family behind Nordic Waste finally broke their silence?
Frankly, we are very few people – and we take pride in keeping it that way. We call it the inverted pyramid.
We know politics, business and culture. We write books and read a lot. You probably know us already.
